What is the tragedy in Ethan Frome?
What is the tragedy in Ethan Frome?
The tragedy of Ethan Frome revolves around him, his sickly wife Zeena, and his mistress Miss Mattie Silver. As a child, Frome was expected to care for his sickly mother and later in life had to stay and care for his sickly wife despite his passions for Miss Mattie Silver.
What type of tragic hero is Ethan Frome?
Therefore, Ethan Frome can be labeled as a tragic hero; one who is destined for greatness but ruined by his own shortcoming. Zenobia Pierce Frome, or Zeena, was presented as one of the “obstacles” of Ethan Frome’s life that kept him from his dreams. However, Ethan did not always think of Zeena so negatively.
Why is Ethan Frome unhappy?
Ethan experiences an internal conflict when he realizes that he is in love with Mattie. He feels that it would be unfair to Mattie to reveal his feelings or to provoke her feelings for him. Because Ethan never talks to Mattie about his feelings for her, he is unsure of her feelings for him.
What causes Ethan’s misery?
Ethan sees Zeena as the cause of his thwarted dreams and recurring failures, believing them to “take shape before him” in the figure of his wife. In many ways, Zeena is indeed responsible for much of Ethan’s suffering: shrewd, calculating, manipulative, and domineering, she exerts an active control over her husband.
Did Ethan die in Ethan Frome?
There are two endings in Ethan Frome. The first is right after Mattie and Ethan crash into the elm tree, at the end of Chapter 9. The second ending happens at the end of the Epilogue, 24 years later. It is this second ending that makes the story brilliant, but also earns it a high rating on our creepy-meter.
Who was Ethan jealous of?
Denis Eady
Why did Ethan say he couldn’t drive Zeena?
Because he didn’t want to drive Zeena to the Junction, he lied to her, saying he needed to pick up money from Andrew Hale but that Jotham Powell would drive her. After Zeena leaves, Ethan leaves the house also to take his load of lumber to Andrew Hale.
Why does Ethan not want to go to bed immediately?
Why does Ethan want to avoid going to bed until Zeena and Mattie have gone upstairs? He wants time to think about his feelings for Zeena/ Maddie; he says he has mill accounts to go over.
Why can’t Ethan leave Starkfield with Mattie?
Why didn’t Ethan leave Starkfield? He has to stay to take care of his family and run the farm and mill.
Do Mattie and Ethan end up together?
Instead of finding escape in suicide, he and Mattie have ended up in a state of living death, in which all Mattie’s vitality has been leeched away, and she has transformed into a carbon copy of her former opposite, Zeena.
Is Zeena really sick?
She is asthmatic and “sickly.” She speaks in a plaintive, whiny drawl. Zeena is seven years older than Ethan. Over the years Zeena becomes adept at using her illnesses to control everyone and everything in her environment. Her illness is the reason why Mattie must go and a hired housekeeper must come to take her place.
How does Ethan know Mattie loves him?
Ethan tries to tell Mattie of his wish to run away with her, and she produces the note he’d written the night before that she’d found in his study. They confirm that their imagined love for each other is real.
Where does Ethan do his clearest thinking?
It was in the early morning stillness, when his muscles were swinging to their familiar task and his lungs expanding with long draughts of mountain air, that Ethan did his clearest thinking. He and Zeena had not exchanged a word after the door of their room had closed on them.
Who does Ethan asks for money?
Andrew Hale
What does Ethan regret not doing with Mattie the night of the dance?
As he hauls the wood, Ethan regrets that he didn’t kiss Mattie when they were alone together the night before. Ethan’s mind then turns to the relationship between Mattie and Zeena, which has been chilly ever since Mattie came to live in Starkfield, after her father died.
What does Ethan lie about?
At the last minute, in order to buy more time with Mattie, Ethan lies to Zeena—he says he needs to collect payment for the delivery of lumber from his mill to Andrew Hale, a builder in Starkfield, and that therefore Jotham Powell, the hired man, will have to take Zeena to the train.
Why does Zeena feel they will be able to afford to hire a girl?
Why does Zeena feel they will be able to afford to hire a girl? Zeena states that if they get rid of Mattie and use the money Ethan got from John Hale, they will be able to afford the hired girl. The implication is that the townspeople suspect Ethan having an affair with Mattie.
How does Ethan feel about his walks home from the dance with Mattie?
Mattie refuses Eady and as she goes off alone to walk home, Ethan catches up with her. He feels happy by what he perceives as her choice of him over Eady.