Free Essays on Whartons Ethan Frome: Unselfish and Stupid Ethan :: Ethan Frome Essays

Unselfish and Stupid Ethan Frome Ethan Frome was an unselfish man, he looked out for the interests of others and acted to serve them rather than himself. Though this attitude is normally considered a wonderful characteristic it proved to be Ethan Frome's undoing. All of Ethan's troubles were a direct result of his unselfishness and strict moral standards. The life that Ethan lived, the plot of the story, could have been drastically changed, and most likely changed for the better had Ethan considered the effects of his actions and decisions upon himself. Ethan was an intelligent man, he had high dreams for himself as an engineer, and he wanted to have a life away from the ceaseless drudgery of life in Starksville. When his mother died leaving Zeena without a place to go, Ethan, being the kind man he was, offered to marry her because he felt obligated to do so. This decision however shut out his hopes for a better life. In order for Ethan to get an education he must have money. In order for Ethan to get money he must sell the farm. And with a new wife to take care of he could not possibly manage it. Ethan's decision to marry Zeena had fettered his social mobility and had brought about the backlash of Zeena's discontent. Ethan further brought on the wrath of Zeena when he chose to get involved with Mattie. Ethan cared a great deal for Mattie and didn't' want Zeena to take her from him. Because Mattie was not well suited to be a maid and frequently made mistakes Ethan would help her with her chores. Ethan also comforted her and tried to hide her shortcomings from Zeena. However his efforts to help Mattie ended up hurting him. Zeena was most definitely aware of Ethan's fondness of Mattie; she insinuated this when she locked Ethan and Mattie out of the house. Besides helping Mattie with her chores Ethan stood up for her and stood up for her in front of Zeena. When the cat broke the pickle dish when Zeena was away at seeing a doctor Ethan went out of his way to try to cover it up. He concocted a plan to buy some glue and put the dish back together so that Zeena wouldn't notice. When that plan failed and Zeena found the broken dish, Ethan was willing to take the blame instead of Mattie.