Ethan

Choice of Narrator In the introduction of Ethan Frome, the reader learns that the narrator is an engineer sent by his employers to work at Corbury Junction. The narrator symbolizes what Ethan wanted to be; an engineer not anchored to Starkfield. He also was very observant and interested in Ethan. He wondered how Ethan ended up the way he did. He meets a man, Harmon Grow, and he tries to get more information about Ethan from him. One thing he said stuck with him forever, “Guess he’s been in…

(Wharton 15). Ethan lived in a “complete absence of atmosphere”, forced to end his studies prematurely after his father’s death (Wharton 24). He could not control this; therefore, he was not responsible for this aspect of his misery.…

One of Ethan Frome’s centric ideas is that Ethan retreats from life into a vision. He escapes his reality to enjoy a few blissful moments in his dream, but never acts to make that dream come true. Harmon Gow says, “Guess he’s been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away.”(Wharton 6) While having every reason to leave Starkfield and his querulous wife, Ethan doesn’t. Ethan’s moral and social values combined with his indecisiveness causes Ethan to retreat from life into a…

In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton the main character, Ethan, was married prematurely to a sickly Zeena. A woman "with no natural turn for housekeeping, and her training had done nothing to remedy the defect." (43 Wharton). In another book that I have recently enjoyed, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway an old sick man goes out to fish for the 84th day with no luck in the many days prior. But in the 84th day he finds his mate, a strong Marlin. Ironically there is a greater love between the…

There is much more to Ethan Frome than simply an unhappy love story. In fact, Wharton offers the reader a complex story through the adequate use of literary devices to find the deeper meaning. Whether it is told directly or it is integrated in between the lines, all written pieces have the sense of a deeper meaning. While Edith Wharton tells the story of Ethan’s desperate hopes and attempts to leave his dreary life, she employs different themes, symbolism and foreshadowing to convince the reader…

In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, symbolism plays a major role in the story. In order for the symbols in his story to “pop” out or show its “shine” Edith Wharton uses symbols that can be found in the story, and even uses the historical background that the symbol may have in society or in myths, for the symbols that appear in the story. In Edith Wharton story Ethan Frome, the symbols that are important in the story and in its plot are the color red, Zeena’s pet cat, Zeena’s best dish which got…

Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton is a tragic novella following Ethan Frome as he attempts to express his feelings for the one he truly loves, Mattie Silver. Ethan, however, is already married and feels obligated to care for his wife, Zeena. Over their 7 year marriage, Zeena has fallen perpetually ill and requires more aid than Ethan can give. In order to provide her the help she needs, they hire Mattie Silver, Zeena’s cousin. Zeena’s illness harks back to Ethan’s mother’s illness, from which Zeena…

Edith Wharton, author of “Ethan Frome,” wrote a twisted love story that ends tragically. Mattie Silver moves to Starkfield MA with her cousin, Zeena Frome and her husband Ethan Frome. She moves in with them in after her father dies. After a while, Mattie and Ethan fall in love. They try to commit suicide together and are unsuccessful and are permanently disabled. From the events that have taken place, Mattie Silver changes from taking care of others, to having to be taken care of. Mattie Silver…

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is a novel dealing with a young man’s persistent battle between his desires and moral principles. The story is set in 17th century New England in a rural community. The town of Starkfield is an area in which northern winters siege the inhabitants and hinder their daily lives. The characters within the novel must resist the frigid climate as it is a major impediment throughout the novel. Ultimately, Ethan Frome faces a conflict between his emotional desires and moral…

Wharton establishes patterns of imagery by using figurative language — language meant to be taken figuratively as well as literally. In Ethan Frome, Wharton's descriptive imagery is one of the most important features of her simple and efficient prose style. Her descriptions serve a definite stylistic and structural purpose. The figurative language used by Wharton includes metaphors and similes. Metaphors compare two unlike things without using words of comparison. For example, in the beginning…