Ethan Frome 4

A detailed Summary of Ethan Frome 4

In Edith Wharton's book, Ethan Frome, the author descriptively portrayed the inner conflict between the pursuit of pleasure and the burden of obligation as Ethan's life unfolded to the reader. As a creative device, she used the bleak, and barren New England countryside to reflect Ethan's frame of mind. The burden of obligation shrouded Ethan's life. He felt obligated to his parents, their farm, his wife Zeena, and her cousin Mattie. Overcome by his enormous sense of responsibility for others, Ethan never had the time for the pursuit of his own pleasures. A life without pleasure, Ethan Frome was characterized by painful silence and despair. The monotonous routine of life's daily responsibilities held Ethan captive to his farm, and unproductive sawmill.

Although together physically, Ethan and Mattie's love for each other eventually faded away forever. Suddenly and unpredictably, Zeena recovered from her trance. The roles were switched. Zeena,

formerly the patient, became the caretaker of the two lovers.

God outlines a healthy, and happy life as a life led in moderation. Unfortunately Ethan never had God's plan to follow. As a result, he led an unhappy, unfulfilled life burdened by too much guilt and obligation.

the death of both of his parents, he found comfort in the presence of his cousin Zenobia Pierce. Earlier that year she had come to help him by taking care of his dying mother. Feeling a sense of obligation to Zeena, he married her, even though he did not truly love her.

Driven by a perverted need f

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ethan Frome, Ethan Mattie's, Pierce Earlier, Ethan Mattie, Finding Mattie's, Mattie Frome's, Ethan God's, Mattie Zeena, Mattie Overcome, Heaven God, ethan mattie, ethan's life, burden obligation, ethan frome, cousin mattie, sense responsibility, wife zeena,

Approximate Word count = 522
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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