In Edith Wharton’s ‘Ethan Frome’ landscape and society are presented as obstacles to the fulfilment of desire. To what extent are landscape and society pivotal in the world of Ethan Frome?
In the world of ‘Ethan Frome’, many of the characters presented to the reader appear to have unfulfilled desires. “All the long misery of his baffled past, of his youth of failure, hardship and vain effort”. However, it is hard to fully grasp what their true desires are as these characters are portrayed through a vision and fragmented pieces by the unnamed narrator. One of the main themes of the novella is isolation; it may be argued that this isolation is caused by the physical landscape or the characters’ personal choices and the attitudes of society. Another prominent theme is frustration and the reader follows each character’s individual struggles in their society. These themes could reflect the frustration and isolation felt in Wharton’s own life and her own lack of fulfilment; she felt excluded and frustrated in an attempt to conform to what was socially acceptable. Therefore, it can be argued that the setting of ‘Ethan Frome’, as well as the attitudes of people, are obstacles which prevent some characters within the world of ‘Ethan Frome’ fulfilling their desires.
Wharton structures the novella by the use of a prologue and an epilogue. Wharton uses ellipsis to signal the twenty year flashback in time. The ellipsis may also symbolise the characters unfullfilled and incomplete desires just like the incomplete sentence where the ellipsis follows. Ethan Frome is written in the first person, the novella is through the narrator’s interpretation of events which may lead the reader to question if the story of Ethan Frome is a true depiction of Ethan's life. The setting of Starkfield may be pivotal to the fulfilment of desire or lack of. This is a contrast to where Wharton set all her other novels in New York; a thriving city where Wharton grew up and she believed there was opportunity and prosperity. Starkfield is therefore an unuasal landscape for her novella and this very isolation may be the reason why the characters lead such unfulfilled lives. In her own life Wharton experienced similar frustrations remaining unfillfilled even in New York. She had many affairs and felt what she wanted was prohibited by society. Her husband Edward Wharton was from a well-respected Boston family and although it was seen as a good match socially, she was unhappy for many years and the marriage fell apart. Wharton may be presenting ‘the world of Ethan Frome’ in order to emphasise that the struggles the characters faced were universal struggles and not just dependent on the landscape where people lived.
Wharton presents Starkfield as a landscape overtaken over by long winters where everything lies buried under the snow, including their desires. This snowbound landscape not only creates physical obstacles for the people of Starkfield but also the oppressive weather may reflect the oppressive, suffocating nature of their lives. Wharton uses the setting to mirror the characters within it. For example, Ethan is ‘a part of the mute melancholy landscape, an incarnation of its frozen woe, with all that was warm and sentient in him fast bound below the surface.’ Wharton personifies the landscape as ‘melancholy’ which suggests the physical landscape is depressed, this reflects Ethan, who has ‘been in Starkfield too many winters.’ Ethan may be able to escape the physical winter but he cannot escape his inner ‘frozen woe’ which ultimately results in his lack of fulfilment. Nevertheless, it is the winter sport of sledding that Ethan uses in hope of an escape. If it was not for the bleak winter that lies on the Starkfield landscape, the smash up would have never occurred. There is an irony that the winter is what traps Ethan yet it could have also set him free.
‘Ethan Frome’ is set in 1911 – a time of industrialisation and modernisation where the ‘American dream’ seemed possible. This was a belief that hard work could result in success, regardless of one’s social background. Nevertheless, Starkfield remains isolated and detached, providing few opportunities and therefore the landscape’s physical remoteness is a huge obstacle for the characters’ own fulfilment. This is suggested when the town is described as being in a ‘depth of moral isolation too remote for casual access’ suggesting the impossibility of the American dream. Without transport links, the employment possibilities in Starkfield are minimal, and it can be argued that the poverty that Ethan and Zeena face results in their unhappiness and unfillfilled desires. The landscape seems to be a huge obstacle for Zeena. Zeena must leave to get better, suggesting that Starkfield is detrimental to her health. The name ‘Starkfield’ is symbolic, giving a sense of something bare and lifeless due to the result of the devastating effects of the harsh winters. Leaving gives Zeena hope that she may fulfil her desires of becoming healthy and possibly provide Ethan with a family. She must leave the ‘barren’ Winter landscape in Starkfield. This can be seen as a metaphor for Ethan and Zeena’s barren and broken marriage. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The landscape is also an obstacle for Ethan himself as he desired to leave Starkfield and become an engineer. However, we learn through the speech of Harmon Gow that despite Ethan’s education about the world outside of Starkfield, he has been there ‘too many winters.’ Ethan is unusual as Gow states ‘most of the smart ones get away.’ This use of the direct vernacular suggests how memorable these words were to the narrator. This emphasises that due to Ethan’s intellect it was strange he didn’t leave; this is possibly due to the inaccessible landscape in which he lives.
Another reason why Ethan Frome may not have left Starkfield is the social responsibility he would have felt in the Puritan society in which he lives. In a Puritan society, men had a social duty to look after their wives. Due to Ethan’s responsibility to his wife Zeena and the difficulties they experience in their relationship, we can see that tensions existed before Mattie’s arrival, ‘like her beloved but never-used pickle dish, Zeena’s life was also put on the shelf the day she was married’, again emphasising the unhappiness of the marriage yet, also demonstrating that neither Ethan nor Zeena could break the marriage due to the Puritan attitudes on the importance and sanctity of marriage – instead their unhappiness is ‘put on the shelf’ and ignored in order to conform to society’s expectations. This metaphor is extended when Mattie smashes the pickle dish – symbolising Mattie breaking Zeena and Ethan’s marriage. This unfulfilling marriage could mirror Wharton’s own life, as her husband, Edward Wharton suffered from mental and physical health problems – he had to travel for treatment, as Zeena does in the novella.
The expectations of society are pivotal to the world of Ethan Frome as it is a small, close community. The size of Starkfield is indicated in the beginning of the novella when the narrator states ‘if you know Starkfield, Massachusetts, you know the post office’ this emphasises the close-knit community; creating a sense of claustrophobia and entrapment. The strict moral codes of society have influenced Ethan not fulfilling his desire to be with Mattie. There is undertone of adultery and immorality from their first encounter, which begins to create a conflict between Ethan’s true desires and what is morally right within his society. The reader is told ‘Frome’s heart was beating fast’ and that he notices her ‘laughing panting lips’ suggesting his sexual desires for Mattie. This is further emphasised by Mattie’s red scarf and ‘the crimson ribbon’ that ‘ran through her hair’, as the colour ‘crimson’ represents danger, sinfulness and the devil. This may represent the desire and love Ethan has for Mattie yet, the danger of their inappropriate relationship.
Mattie is presented as a symbol of escape from his oppressive society and bleak landscape and even Mattie’s name ‘Silver’ with connotations of brightness suggests this. This is further emphasised when a ‘pale haze’ is presented when he thinks of her – this may thaw out his cold heart. Mattie provides a momentary escape when they have dinner together. Light imagery is used as she appears at the door with a ‘lifted lamp in her hand.’ Wharton also describes ‘a bright fire glowed in the stove’. This is set against the ‘black background of the kitchen’ emphasising the dark and unhappy marriage between Zeena and Ethan and the ‘light’ and hope that Mattie provides in helping Ethan overcome the obstacles in his life.
Mattie may have been able to fulfil her desires in the future; however, the ‘smash up’ leaves her crippled and lifeless, mirroring the weak and fragile Zeena. The choice of suicide, as described by Critic Marius Bewley, is a decision that ‘entails tragic consequences because it is the wrong decision.’ Personally I agree as Mattie betrayed Zeena therefore she should face the consequences of her actions. It is due to these morally wrong decisions that Mattie could not fulfil her desires and is left with a much harsher reality. From a religious perspective, it could be seen that Mattie gets what she morally deserved for betraying Zeena. Therefore, personal choice may be the pivotal reason as to why characters cannot fulfil their desires. Due to the place of women in society and the immoral actions of her father, Mattie had to stay in Starkfield in order work, yet she still had choices. Mattie made the decision to go with Ethan, she chose to betray Zeena and dismiss Denis Eady.
Zeena, in comparison to Ethan and Mattie, seems to be fulfilled in the end. As Mattie is no longer a threat, Zeena regains control of her household – an anomaly for women in 1911. Throughout the novella Zeena is portrayed as witchlike and unlikeable. She is illustrated as ‘already an old woman’ and the narrator describes how her ‘cat lay stretched before [the fire] watching the table with a drowsy eye.’ This behaviour suggests Zeena’s witchlike powers. Arguably, Zeena’s dominance at the end of the novella creates a sense of ‘an inverted fairy-tale.’ Elizabeth Ammons argues that in this novella it is the witch who wins unlike traditional fairy tales. Ammons suggests Mattie is characterized as the traditional heroine in fairy tales, as she is young and persecuted by Zeena who is a witchlike figure. I also agree that it does not end as a traditional fairy-tale as Mattie acts immorally. Subsequently, she is not the true heroine of the story. She cannot be happy like other characters such as Ruth Varnum who do seem to fulfil their desires. This is possibly due to their desires being in accordance with society’s moral values. I believe the witchlike figure wins in the end as her decisions are always seen as moral in her society.
Landscape and society present obstacles for the characters of the novel and are pivitol in deciding whether their desires are fulfilled. However, the character’s personal choices are also vitally important in whether they achieved their desires at the end of the novel. Ethan is expected to look after Zeena, however he could have still left Starkfield to fulfil his desires – nonetheless he chose not to. Undoubtedly, landscape and society presented obstacles; nevertheless, Ethan was not strong enough to overcome these and make the right choices. In some ways, this characterises him as a tragic hero within the tradition of Greek tragedy. He possesses extraordinary abilities such as his intellect, however, his ‘fatal flaw’ is his unwillingness to make the right decision. This ultimately leads to the main tragedy. It seems as though the characters who make morally correct choices are more fulfilled then those who do not; I believe that correct moral choices, as expected by their society, are pivotal to the fulfilment of desire within the novella.
Bibliography
Wharton, Edith (edited with an introduction and notes by Elaine Showalter) (1911) Ethan Frome, Oxford university press, Oxford
Ethan Frome Critical Essay (https://freebooksummary.com/ethan-frome-critical-essay-45425)
Novel Summaries Analysis, Ethan Frome – Themes (http://www.novelexplorer.com/ethan-frome/themes-10/)