Failure in Ethan From
Essay Preview: Failure in Ethan From
Report this essay
Failure in Ethan Frome
Essay written by: crystier
The main theme of the book Ethan Frome is failure. It is shown in three ways throughout the story: Ethans marriage, him not being able to stand up to Zeena, and his involvement in the “smash up”.
Ethan marries Zeena so he wont be alone after his mother dies. She seemed like a very cheerful, vivacious person while his mother was sick. After their marriage all this changed. She became a very nagging, sick wife. Because of Zeenas “complications” they had to hire someone to help around the house. Mattie, Zeenas cousin, needed a place to live and seemed fit for the job. She moved in and Ethan took and immediate liking to her. He found someone that cared for him, was always happy, and could share his youth. All of which, Zeena was incapable of doing. Ethan longed to be with Mattie, but he was loyal to Zeena. Being married to Zeena was Ethans first failure.
Ethans second failure was not standing up to Zeena. She claimed the doctor said that she was extremely sick and needed more help around the house. She told him without any discussion that Mattie had to go. Ethan could not find the words to make her alter her decision. Zeena also decided that Mattie had to leave the next day. It was stated in the book that Zeena had the upper hand in the house by the line “Now she [Zeena] had mastered him [Ethan] and he obeyed her.” Ethan could not find the right things to say, and it was because of his failure of not being able to stand up to his wife that he was going to lose the only thing that made him happy.
Ethans last failure was the way he modified his and Matties lives regarding the “smash up”. He wanted to run away with Mattie, but he could not because his practical sense told him it was not feasible to do so. Mattie wanted so desperately to be with Ethan that she suggested in order to stay together forever, to die together. It was Ethans job to steer into the tree with the sled so that it looked like an accidental death. He did not hit the tree right and it did not kill either of them. Instead it injured them, and these injuries stayed with them forever. In this way, Ethan had his last failure in not exceeding to die with his love. Now he had to live with the guilt from his wife, the injured Mattie,