Ethan Frome is a novel written by Edith Wharton, who based the book on experiences in her personal life. In the book, Ethan falls in love with his wifes niece Mattiewho has come to take care of his ill wife Zeena. The feelings between Ethan and Mattie are mutual even though they both know they cannot be together. Many critics have reviewed Ethan Frome as a depressing love story.
Samuel Irving Bellman is one among many of the critics who have mixed emotions about the story. After first reading the novel in 1943, Bellman found it to be flat, unappealing, and unimaginative. He felt the characters were lifeless and hard to imagine as players in a human drama. A major drawback of his is Whartons love-hate triangle between Ethan, Zeena, and Mattie.
From a positive perspective, Ethan Frome is important to Whartons canon because it represents her confident coming of age as an artistIt has gained its place as a masterpiece of American literature for its style: it is brilliant in its economy, clarity, and structure (Bellman). Here, he is explaining that Ethan Frome deserves to be a classic for its style, although he is not personally fond of the book. One may agree with Bellmans positive encouragement of the method of writing, while others may find the text to be over worded.
Throughout the story there are many symbols. Wharton seems to have over-used symbolism. The setting Starkfieldsymbolizes isolation and loneliness, but this isolation is also symbolized by Zeenas hair, the way it is pinned back and confined. Symbolism has even been found within the names of the characters. The origins of the names Ethan, Zeena, and Mattieare indicators to the types of characters being portrayed. Overall the story symbolizes the life of the author.
Edith Whartons own life stands as an example of the obstacles that a woman of her time and place had to overcome to find self-realization (Dwight). During the time she wrote Ethan Frome her relationship between the three most important people in her life her closest friend, Henry James; her lover, Morton Fullerton; and her husband, Teddy Whartonwas in chaos. The first, Henry James, was terribly ill and can be viewed as representing Zeena. The second proved to be unserious and the third, her husband, could no longer be put up with even within an open marriage. This became her inspiration for the novel.
Some may point out that they are not concerned with Whartons personal experiences. Fracasso focused on the imprisonment of the characters and emphasized the development of technical artistry in the theme. She critiqued more on Whartons style rather than on her actual text, comparing representative stories from different phases of Whartons career. She observed slight similarities in many of Whartons stories, such as adulterous husbands and on-stage and off-stage lovers.
The chaos of the secret lovers gave the novel a gloomy feeling. Two people falling in love knowing that it was impossible to be together was slightly depressing. The story is more of a romantic tragedy as in Romeo and Juliet but the couple doesnt quite end up like Romeo or Juliet this is why critics have called it a Romeo and Juliet gone bad. Ethan Frome is also compared to a fairy tale. Zeena represents a witch and the story interprets as a parallel to the fairy tale of Snow White (Ammons).
Although the story gives a feeling of misery, it also gives a feeling of hope for the couple. It may seem awkward due to the fact that theyre related by marriage, but true love should be given a chance. They may have gone about proving their love in the wrong way, but the fact that they both cared so much for each other to try gives a feeling of happiness and hope. This is among many of the reasons why the story is classical.
The story of Ethan Frome is unappreciated by many. Some think it is a marvelous piece of literature while others think its a waste. Edith Wharton created a classical piece of literature including many aspects and adventures of her own personal life. There are pros and cons to every authors work, but in the case of Ethan Frome, there are more cons than pros.
Works Cited
Ammons, Elizabeth.
Bellman, Samuel Irving.
Dwight, Eleanor. Edith Wharton's World.
Fracasso. "Edith Wharton's Prisoners of Consciousness ." n.d.
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