Common Sense In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

René Descartes once stated that “common sense is the most widely shared commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it.” This quotation implies that there is a lot of wisdom or common knowledge to go around in the world, in order make a sound judgment; ironically it doesn 't always materialize, just as in the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. The main protagonist in this novel is Ethan Frome. He renders the impression of a man to be pitied because faith has dealt him with a bad hand. But, it could be argued that it is because of Ethane lack of common sense, faith itself did not deal him a bad hand, but he chooses the path that led him down to a desolate road.

The story of Ethan Frome takes place …show more content…
"...the Frome grave stones slanted at crazy angles through the snow. Ethan looked at the curiously. For years that quiet company had mocked his restlessness, his desire for change and freedom (Wharton).” Here the protagonist feels a sense of hopelessness or despair. Believing that he is stuck where he is until the day he dies. He was once attending college but Had to come back to Starkfield to take care of his ailing parents. A decision he decided to make. Common sense would tell you, that if he wanted to study outside of Starkfield why didn 't he bring his parents to live with him outside of Starkfield, and take care of them. That way Ethane would have never would have given up his dream and fulfilled his duty as a son according to …show more content…
In the story, Ethane Frome had fallen in love with the help. Which consequently, the help was Zeena 's cousin Mattie Silvers (no relation to Ethan). When Zeena decides to kick out Mattie, Ethan became a little rebellious especially after learning tat Mattie was romantically interested in him. So he decided to take the station, to say the last farewell. But instead of taking he straight there (to the station) they decided to go sledding. It is here where Mattie Silver suggest that they should sled straight into an Elm tree. They thought it was the only way they could be together. But making this decision had grave consequences. Instead of dying Mattie became paralyzed from the neck down, and Ethane got the "smash up", now really feeling forever trapped in his misery. Had he not cared so much about what society thought, he could have divorced Zeena and left wth Mattie and started a new life somewhere else. He could have also tried to convince Zeena to move into the town and found her psychological help while he looked for work and finished up school. He could have chosen to speak up, to communicate more and find other alternatives besides attempting suicide (which went