Ethan Frome Literary Analysis

¶ … Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome. You specific evidence prove thesis -- FIVE direct quotes. Use MLA format essay including citations double spaced. According Oscar Wilde, "In world tragedies:, .

"Ethan Frome"

Edith Wharton's novel "Ethan Frome" discusses with regard to ideas like the failure to achieve one's personal goals and to the risks associated with fighting for these respective goals. The book's narrator appears to be especially interested in guiding readers through the story in order for them to gain a more complex understanding of what actually happened to the protagonist. The fact that the novel begins with the end of Frome's chronological experiences is intended to confuse readers and to make them feel intrigued with wanting to find out more about the central character.

To a certain degree, even with the fact that some readers might feel an early closure by acknowledging the inevitability of events occurring in the story, most are likely to be captivated by this feeling of finality. In order to truly be able to comprehend the novel, one would have to read it several times, as already being acquainted with the storyline can seriously assist the respective individual in truly comprehending Wharton's thinking. The writer's clever strategies can go unnoticed upon first readings, but this confusion can play an important role in making readers get actively involved in the text.

The novel's description of events in a town called Starkfield uses the name to emphasize the condition of the atmosphere there. The writer uses the way its inhabitants seem to have a strong connection with it with the purpose of showing how they were influenced by the environment that they grew up in. The central character, Frome, is one of the best examples of individuals having been changed by their experiences in the town. He usually takes on a cold attitude with regard to what happens around him and seems to put across feelings that are directly connected with the city. "If you know the post office you must have seen Ethan Frome drive up to it, drop the reins on his hollow backed bay and drag himself across the brick pavement to the white colonnade: and you must have asked who he was." (Wharton) The way the writer portrays Frome puts across a feeling of continuity, as if he was a part of the scenery.

Wharton wanted to introduce a great deal of feelings in the novel and thus revolved around Frome's character as being somewhat of an integral element in the quiet, restrained life in Starkfield. The novel addresses society's morals and people's tendency to act in accordance with a strict set of rules. Thinking promoted during the nineteenth century did not allow for certain behaviors to be acceptable, so ideas like these influenced Frome to be reluctant to focus on them until he found that there was no other alternative.

Frome's relationship with his wife is an important element in the novel, as it shows how two persons can struggle with trying to be together in spite of the fact that they resent each-other. "These alterations of mood were the despair and joy of Ethan Frome." (Wharton) The role Mattie plays in this relationship represents a type of intrigue that is surprising both to readers and to the characters in the text. Frome's wife, Zeena, is initially unsuspecting of her husband feelings toward Mattie, but as the storyline progresses she gradually becomes more irritated with his interest toward the girl and eventually expresses her fury.

The writer paints a particularly depressing picture of the central character and proceeds with showing the town and its residents as they seem to be dominated by an air of reluctant suffering. Even with this, she manages to use her prose with the purpose of captivating readers and actually making them feel impressed with the overall environment she presents. "The moon had set, but the night was so transparent that the white house-fronts between the elms looked gray against the snow, clumps of bushes made black stains on it, and the basement windows of the church sent shafts of yellow light far across the endless undulations." (Wharton)

The novel focuses on the connection between the three characters and some might feel that this makes the story less complex. However, the numerous ideas suggested by the way that these three characters influence each-other actually make the text attractive from another perspective -- one involving unique features present in a stereotypical environment. It is because of how these people think that readers are probable to feel intrigued upon becoming familiar with them.

Frome's character puts across the feeling that life can actually be unrewarding for some people. He seems to be a hopeless person, taking into account how he lives in accordance with rules and does not hesitate to follow the path he is provided with. Concepts like joy or naturalness seem to be impossible for individuals like Frome. He respects his duties and blindly follows legislations, only for his thinking to be significantly affected by his interaction with Mattie. Wharton uses her as a means to show readers that a person can actually be pulled from an environment that defines him or her. The protagonist almost abandoned his whole life in an attempt to reach what he interpreted as a form of perfection.

By accepting Mattie into his life and by daring to go as far as to consider leaving with her Frome demonstrates his determination. He does something that is in disagreement with every value he has lived until that moment in an attempt to find real happiness. However, things end badly for him as he pays a serious price for doing this.

Frome is shown as a person who dared to believe that people can create their own fate rather than to be guided by their destiny. This is visible from the way he looks at Mattie and considers having a life with her in a world where things would be different and he would have the possibility to consider this idea. "Ethan had an idea that if she were to marry a man she was fond of the dormant instinct would wake, and her pies and biscuits become the pride of the county; but domesticity in the abstract did not interest her." (Wharton)

It is difficult to understand Wharton's point-of-view with regard to this story, as she seems to send mixed messages concerning whether or not someone should follow his or her dreams or whether the respective person should refrain from acting against social norms. From the beginning of the novel readers know that this is a tragedy, but as the storyline advances they become even more described the general setting in Starkfield and how it seemed to be a place where it was impossible for someone to be truly happy.