Character Analysis Of A Strong Character In Ethan Frome

Living in the Frome’s home she had to learn and adapt to a lifestyle she wasn’t custom to. Being that she was impoverished it caused her to behave sometimes inappropriately because she wasn’t used to anything. First, Mattie came to live in Starkfield because she was left with nothing after the death of her parents. Zeena her cousin was the only family member who was willing to take her in.(Shmoop) Mattie’s duty was to take care of Zeena and tend to the

Ethan fears that Zeena can read his thoughts. The extent of Zeena's authority is such that Ethan and Mattie are both uneasy when reminded of her. Mattie can not even sit comfortably in Zeena's rocking chair while Zeena is in Bettsbridge. An example of this is “Zeena’s empty rocking chair stood facing him. Mattie rose obediently, and seated herself in it.

Throughout the novel, Wharton juxtaposes Ethan's feelings for Mattie and Zeena through

The description of how Mattie made him feel when he touched her. Ethan want happiness so bad that he was willing to end his own life to be with Mattie, but when Him and Mattie decided to end their life, A picture of Zeena flashed through his mind. “But suddenly his wife's face, with twisted monstrous lineaments, thrust itself between him and his goal, and he made an instinctive movement to brush it aside. The sled swerved in response, but he righted it again, kept it straight, and drove down on the black projecting mass. There was a last instant when the air shot past him like millions of fiery wires; and then the elm…”, He thought about the commitment he made with Zeena.

This departure leaves Ethan alone with Mattie in his house. Even while the two are becoming closer falling for one another, and with Zeena gone, their love is still interupted by Ethan's cat knocking over the plate of pickles. This is symbolic because the cat embodies Zeena as she refuses to allow Ethan and Mattie's relationship to relish and bloom. The cat is constantly around the two, monitoring their every move, which can portray Zeena secretly knowing about the relationship they have with one another. This symbol advances the work because this action of Zeena (the cat) can portray her distrust of her husband which leads to later conflicts in the story, such as telling Mattie that she does not need her contributions any longer and removes her from her

Ethan cared for both of his parents right up until their deaths’, even postponing his education. Throughout his affair with Mattie he is constantly thinking of Zeena and how it would affect her. Even when Mattie and Ethan are about to sled into the tree, Ethan is thinking of his horse being hungry when he says “he’s wondering why he doesn’t get his supper…” (Wharton 71). His selflessness and the way he worries about others is his tragic flaw.

Clearly, it’s reasonable to conclude Mattie shares a deep passion for Ethan, but that does not mean Mattie is pleased with her responsibility for the problems she has caused. Zeena and Ethan are bestowed with many complications and difficult circumstances that mostly relate to Mattie. The pickle plate cracking into pieces manifests Mattie’s realization that she’s a reason for the death of a marriage...and like most people, no one wants to place them self in that kind of circumstance. When Mattie witnesses arguments Zeena and Ethan discreetly undergo, she loses a sense of pride that she once shared within herself. Furthermore, the fragmented dish symbolizes Mattie’s saddening awareness that Zeena does not fancy her.

After they were married Zeena got sick and they need to call upon Mattie to do the housework. As time went on Mattie and Ethan formed a relationship through the same context as he previously did with Zeena. In the end Mattie was unable to do housework which completely shows that Mattie

With Ethan being a coward he accepted what Zeena said without her even needing to ask this is for example when Zeena says she hired a new house maid to take care of her Ethan did not directly stand up for Maddie or to Zeena he only said that they didn’t have the money to pay her. Also Ethan never made a plan where him and Maddie could be together in the end. If Ethan would of just stood up to for himself all of this could have been avoided, he could have been with Maddie from the beginning and made his life much

A long time resident of Starkfield, the protagonist Ethan Frome shows he is considerate by caring for and helping others. He first shows this trait when he gives up his desire to live in a city to support his ill mother. Though he has a strong wish to leave Starkfield, he respects his duty and cares for his mother. Ethan also shows this attribute to Zeena, by looking after her and contributing to her medicine while she also falls ill. Zeena is again thought of by Ethan when the pickle dish breaks.

After hearing the story of Ethan Frome, Ethan is actually a very strong person. He is emotionally strong. Throughout the story, Zeena always got on Ethan for even the smallest things but she does not know how aggressive she is coming off. Zeena always boss Ethan around and make him do everything. Then she takes most of his money then use it to go see a doctor that will supposedly help her.

Ethan flirted with Mattie and would try his hardest to impress her, for example, he began shaving his face everyday which he never used to do for Zeena. These inappropriate actions caused chaos within the household. Ethan began to lust over Mattie, wanting to spend as much

Ethan’s initial response is to attempt to simply piece back the pickle dish with glue. The use of glue or “the easy route” to fix the broken pickle dish so Zeena won’t discover the accident, symbolizes Ethan’s thought process to try repairing their loveless relationship. Furthermore, Ethan is afraid to even tell Zeena that the dish has broken which shows the lack of communication and understanding in their relationship. Zeena’s response is much more dramatic, by intensely accusing Mattie of not only breaking her most prized possession, but also threatening her husband and their marriage. Zeena’s anger and resentment over the broken pickle dish actually illustrates her sorrow over her broken and unfulfilling marriage.

She showed strength when helping take care of Ethan's sick mother. The most surprising act of strength was when she was able to stay with and help Ethan and Mattie. They were planning on leaving her and killing themselves. Zeena never liked Mattie very much and and by taking care of her shows that she really has a lot of strength and power. Mattie Silver's lack of strength was very

Ethan’s bad choices of leaving school, feeling lonely and marrying Zeena and then also being avoidant when he wants to leave her. Obviously, Ethan Frome’s tragedy is all caused by his personal decisions. One of many ignorant choices Ethan makes is when his mother gets ill, somewhere in the beginning of the story. During this time, Ethan dropped out of college.