Ethan Frome Narrative Essay
Ethan Frome: Prisoner of Sheer Bleakness Ethan Frome, the striking, disfgured man of Starkfield and main character of the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, serves as an instance where a character has endured a significant event from the past that has affected the character in a negative way. Due to Ethan’s harsh past that led to his repression away from society and internal moral entanglement, his activities and values in life were decrepitly modified.
In the novel, certain personal circumstances surrounding Ethan Frome’s early life contribute to the outcome of his pitiful life beginning with the earliest of woeful ircumstances in Ethan’s life ”his parents’ sickliness. Shortly after graduating high school, Ethan attends a university where he studies his two passions”science and technology. This event allows the reader to view one of the few positive events in Ethan’s life.
After graduating he plans on escaping from Starkfield, which the reader later finds to be Ethan’s geological and personal prison, but, soon after he begins University, Ethan’s father and mother become ill. Ethan is forced to move back to the Frome’s farm due to his strong willed morals, but when his father passes away, he is orced to take care his ill mother as well. Ethan’s future wife Zeena, comes to care for his mother. This first sequence of circumstances allows the reader to view not only a glimpse of Ethan’s moral values but Just how melancholic Ethan’s early personal life begins to become.
His mother, being Ethan’s main source of attention and social interaction before her illness, stops talking to him and soon after dies, which leaves Zeena to be left with Ethan. Even though Zeena is viewed wicked by the reader, she is an interest to Ethan since she talks to him after his mother stopped and Ethan enjoys t. Being that it was winter, the most dreadful of seasons for Starkfield and the fact that he feels he owes her for caring for his mother, Ethan is summoned by his fear of loneliness and contending his morals and marries Zeena.
Initially, Ethan plans on moving away from Starkfleld with his new bride; however, Zeena, too, becomes ill. With Zeena’s illness now becoming a hurdle in Ethan’s race for freedom from the grim Starkfield, morally he tends to her needs and cares for his wife. Zeena, now ill, is no longer conversing as much with Ethan as before his mother’s death and becomes n apparent hypochondriac and speaks in an obnoxious “flat whine. ” Zeena is also shaping into an unattractive, old woman. Easily, Ethan could leave Zeena and escape Starkfield, but his morals prevent this from occurring.
Yet again, Ethan endures another tragedy in his life and where his morality dwindles his chances of escaping Starkfield. Ethan and Zeena’s marriage becomes bland and unappetizing to the both of them, and since the two are isolated from the rest of Starkfield, Ethan longs for social activity. However, this is the case until Zeena decides to appoint her cousin, Mattie Silver, to live at the Fromes’ farm with them and work as a housekeeper. Unlike Zeena, Mattie is is young, attractive, and has an interest in speaking to Ethan.
Unfortunately, Mattie is inexperienced and has no knowledge of housekeeping and is naive. Upon Mattie’s arrival, Ethan is skeptical of the idea of having to pay for a housekeeper. Later, Ethan learns Mattie has came to live with the Fromes’ in order to feelings for Mattie (because she is livelier than Zeena) but is unable to fully pursue a relationship with her due to his marriage to Zeena because of his moral character. Mattie, who talks to Ethan and gives him the attention he yearns for, is the driving force behind Ethan’s new found happiness.
Together, Mattie and Ethan enjoy conversing about Ethan’s lessons on science and technology which eventually leads to their outdoor walks and their discussions about their love for nature. Initially, Ethan is not physically having a relationship with Mattie due to his moral values, but envisioning one. Zeena, being an observant woman, realizes Ethan’s changes and behavior for example his interest in bettering his appearance, specifically for Mattie. Ethan finds his way in a place of confusion, his happiness is because of Mattie, but morally he couldn’t develop anymore of a romantic relationship with her because of his wife Zeena.
Zeena decides to replace Mattie after her suspicion of a relationship between Ethan and Mattie sparks. Ethan becomes upset; “She had taken everything else from him; and no she meant to take the one thing that made up for all the others”. While escorting Mattie to her departure, the two decide to go sledding which results in act of attempt suicide to embody their love, but during the course of action, Ethan’s morals”get the best of him. After the accident with Mattie, Ethan’s life goes down hill.
With a now disfigured body, a pitiful wife, and a paralyzed lover, Ethan Frome has now become a prisoner of Starkfield; “He seemed a part of the mute melancholy landscape, and incarnation of its frozen woe, with all that was warm and sentient in him fast bound below the surface;. ” Negatively, the accident affects his present and future lives because he not only becomes an outcast to society but “the most striking fgure”. Left with having to aide Mattie in her physical impairment in his overty stricken home, he also deals with producing an income as well as no escape from Starkfield whatsoever.
Unfortunately, Ethan no longer has memory of his beloved Mattie since she has now a reflection of another whiny, wicked “Zeena “, . if [Mattie] ha’ died, Ethan might ha’ lived; and the way they are now, I Frome .. don’t see’s there’s much difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down in the graveyard; ‘cept that down there theyre all quiet, and the women have got to hold their tongues. ” Ethan’s moral value is questioned when he could ave avoided his disastrous life but Just avoiding confrontation with his issues.
His life becomes more dreadful than death itself. Now living in absolute pity because of the disastrous events that occurred in his life, Ethan Frome becomes a prisoner of unhappiness in his own home. All together with the death of his parents, his debt to his sickly wife, and his tragic accident which left him disfgured, Ethan Frome’s repression from society and internal moral entanglement not only prevented him to never escape the harsh and bleak winters of Starkfield but, led him to become”a ruin ofa man.
