To Be or Not to Be?
In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome, numerous topics are conveyed that are associated with the characters. One example exists as the discussion whether or not the characters are victims of fate. Throughout the novel, multitudes of instances confirm that the characters are indeed victims of fate. As the history of Ethan Frome's life unfolds, readers see that his life is controlled by fate. Ethan lead a amazing life due to his intelligence, but at the time of "his father's death....had put a premature end to Ethan's studies" (Wharton 28). Death can not be controlled only by fate, and it is by that fate that Ethan's life had been expired. Even as a child, Ethan was born to a lifestyle of poverty. As his father's death caused Ethan to do without "convivial loiterings within the village.....his mother fell ill" causing full responsibility of the farm on to Ethan (58). He had no choice but to run the farm by himself in order to support his ill mother. After the death of the mother, Ethan was haunted by the fact of livin
g in silence in the farm. "Before he knew what he was doing" he proposed to Zeena in order to keep the house filled with chatter (59). It was if by fate Zeena was the one to come and treat his mother, and it was by fate that Ethan was drawn to the noisiness of Zeena's chatter as it seemed to be music to his ears. After the wedding, however, Zeena became quite the hypochondriac thus annoying Ethan. Ethan could not control Zeena's action because it was by fate that Zeena would assume the role of a shrew. As the story neared the end, Mattie told Ethan to kill them both so that they would be together forever. Fate again played a role to control his life by sending images of Zeena to his mind. As a result he flinched causing much damage to the bodies of both but not death. Although Ethan did have a few instances where he had the choice, there was a limited amount of instances where his choice affected his life. Fate controlled the dispirited life of Ethan Frome. Though each had few significant choices that woul
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Approximate Word count = 689
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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