The War Between Passion and Responsibility in Edith Whartons Ethan Frome One recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility In Edith Whartons 1911 novel Ethan Frome set in 1881 Starkfield Massachusetts the protagonist Ethan Frome confronts the demands of a private passion with Mattie Silver that conflict with his responsibility to his wife Zeena Ethans anticipation of his night alone with Mattie his night in his study and his attempt to commit suicide reve
Tragedy befalls the misunderstood all throughout the history of literature most famously Julius Caesar Antigone and Ethan Frome although his more lightly Edith Whartons character Ethan Frome is a loving strong willed passionate man who because of these same characteristics becomes crippled He was in love with the character Mattie but because of his marital status and many other reasons it made it impossible for them to show affection He was the tragic hero similar to that of Sophocles concept o
What choice would you make between lust and moral obligation The same decision faces Ethan Frome in Edith Whartons novella Ethan Frome In the novella Ethan must choose between staying in his hometown of Starkfield with his wife Zeena or giving into lust and running away with Zeenas cousin and their housekeeper Mattie Silver Ethan knows his obligation to stay with Zeena but he does not actually love her She has no positive characteristics and brings nothing but restrain and burden to Ethan Ethan
Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton is a marvelous novel that contains countless numbers of themes that touch the lives of people even today Set in the odd gloomy desolate town of Starkfield Ethan Frome explains ones need for affection and belonging in society sometimes only brought about by tragedy The themes of the novel solely surround the main characters of Ethan Frome Zeena Frome Ethans wife and Mattie Silver a distant cousin of Zeenas The most important theme in this novel deals with the
At midnight through an accumulated snowfall of some two feet a young Ethan Frome walks the quiet streets of Starkfield Near the edge of the village he stops in front of the community church where a dance is being held He makes his way around the churchs perimeter and settles in front of a basement window craning his neck to get a view of the festivities The dance is concluding and the assembled group is preparing to leave But when the young handsome and energetic Denis Eady jumps back onto the
The novels Ethan Frome and Catcher in the Rye by Edith Wharton and J D Salinger respectively are two great works that depict two characters struggles in life Three themes that both novels share are the need for companionship regret over lost potential and immersion in a fantasy world Ethan Frome and Holden Caulfield are both very lonely characters in desperate need for companionship and compassion They both search for human contact of sorts to prevent the onset of loneliness Frome marries Zenob
The novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton tells the story of Ethan Frome a man trapped in the small village of Starkfield Ethan desperately wishes to escape the dreary town and his equally dreary wife Zeena He has always wanted to be an engineer and to live in towns where there were lectures and big libraries and fellows doing things However Ethans attempts to escape his damnation and achieve happiness are only met with misfortune This conveys the theme that individuals are bound by powers that we
Edith Wharton establishes patterns of imagery in her book Ethan Frome She associates the imagery and setting with three main ideas winter death and light When we think of winter we think of Zeena and more importantly Ethan When we think of light we always think of Mattie When we think of death we think of different scenes in the book To help support the three main ideas Wharton uses metaphors similes and other uses of figurative language Winter as the setting sets the tone of the story througho