Ethan Frome: A Tragedy?

A detailed Summary of Ethan Frome: A Tragedy?

What is a tragic hero? Most people would think this term simply means the

protagonist of a story that ends in a tragic way. But this interpretation is not entirely true.

In fact, a tragic hero is indeed the protagonist of a tragedy, but the more important part is

that they always have one flaw that leads them to their unhappiness. The novel Ethan

Frome by Edith Wharton can be considered a tragedy because the main character, Ethan,

has one tragic flaw. The protagonist from the story is antisocial and this one flaw leads to

an inability to express his feelings, loneliness, and a failed marriage.

Ethan Frome's antisocial behavior makes it impossible to express his feelings. He

is very unhappy with his marriage to Zeena but he never tells anyone how he feels. He

simply goes on with his life like nothing is wrong. This not only hurts himself, but Zeena

as well. He also cannot express his feelings for Mattie. One example of this is in chapter

five, right after Zeena has left for Bettsbridge. The scene is where Mattie is cleaning the

dishes and Ethan is leaving for work. It is the perfect opportunity for Ethan to tell her

how he feels because they are all alone, but all he can manage

Every relationship depends on good interaction with others. Considering Ethan's lack of

communicational skills is the only real flaw that leads him to unhappiness, Ethan Frome

seems to make him create a fantasy world where he is always happy. He often gets lost in

the Hales, but they were only acquainted to him. He would only make simple small talk

It seems as though Ethan has many flaws, but all these flaws tie into the same idea.

Loneliness is always caused by the lack of communication. The same goes along with not

his "world" and starts to think of outrageous things. For instance, after Ethan had gone to

Approximate Word count = 829
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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