major conflict Ethan’s main fight is with his own conscience, as he decides whether or not to reveal to Mattie his true feelings. His struggles are exacerbated by his surroundings—Zeena, the bleak Starkfield landscape, his home—which often take on an oppressive quality.

What is Ethan’s reaction when he sees Denis Eady dancing with Mattie? Who is Denis Eady? Ethan is slightly jealous of Denis Eady dancing with Mattie.

Denis Eady The son of Starkfield’s rich Irish grocer, Michael Eady, and sometime-suitor of Mattie Silver. Denis is the focus of Ethan’s jealousy in the novel’s early chapters, before Ethan learns of Mattie’s true feelings.

How is Ethan’s conflict between his feelings for Mattie and those for Zeena voiced? – The missing door key is significant as it shows that Ethan cannot live his fantasy with Mattie as it will lock him out of society and his home. It also shows that Zeena has her suspicions over Ethan’s thoughts on Mattie.

what lie does Ethan tell Zeena, why does he tell it, and why does he regret it? He told her he would be getting money from Andrew Hale so he wouldn’t have to take her to the Flats, and he regretted because she would spend more money on medication.

Ethan married Zeena because he was afraid of silence, just as his mother was. The Fromes appear to suffer from a fear of loneliness, which causes them to make poor decisions. Wharton implies that Zeena got “ill” because she couldn’t bear moving to a larger town where Ethan would be out of her control.

Yes, Ethan kisses Mattie near the end of the novel.

Mattie in Love As a young woman, Mattie seems to be truly in love with Ethan. Everything from turning down Denis Eady to declaring her love indicates that her affection for Ethan is sincere.

Zeena and Mattie are cousins. Zeena and Ethan are cousins.

Zeena is constantly going to different towns in search of more remedies. She is not actually sick, but every time she goes she discovers new symptoms. She hears of other peoples problems and begins to accept them as her own. Furthermore, she makes Ethan financially stressed through her purchases.

There are two endings in Ethan Frome. The first is right after Mattie and Ethan crash into the elm tree, at the end of Chapter 9. The second ending happens at the end of the Epilogue, 24 years later. It is this second ending that makes the story brilliant, but also earns it a high rating on our creepy-meter.

35 years old

Character Analysis Zenobia (Zeena) Frome She has false teeth and her hair is kept in place with crimping pins. She is asthmatic and “sickly.” She speaks in a plaintive, whiny drawl. Over the years Zeena becomes adept at using her illnesses to control everyone and everything in her environment.

The Cat. The cat owned by the Fromes symbolizes Zeena’s presence. It is constantly around Ethan and Mattie while they are alone together, and it serves as a reminder to Ethan that he is doing this behind his wife’s back.

The broken pickle dish that Zeena discovers at the top of the china closet symbolizes the shattered Frome marriage. She mourns for the destruction of the dish because she cannot openly mourn the collapse of her marriage and happiness.

Summary and Analysis Chapters 1-2. As Chapter 1 begins, Ethan is going into town to walk Mattie Silver home from a dance at the church. Mattie refuses Eady and as she goes off alone to walk home, Ethan catches up with her. He feels happy by what he perceives as her choice of him over Eady.

Ethan is our tragic hero, a man of many faces. He lives with two women, his wife and his wife’s cousin, with whom he was (and maybe still is) in love. But tragic hero isn’t the only way to look at Ethan. …

The cushion that Ethan throws across his study is the only cushion that Zeena ever made for him. Throwing it across the floor symbolizes his growing rejection of Zeena and his desire to run away with Mattie.

Major themes in Ethan Frome include silence, isolation, illusion, and the consequences that are the result of living according to the rules of society. Wharton relies on personal experiences to relate her thematic messages.

Winter is also symbolic of the isolation, loneliness, and immobility that Ethan experiences. The image of the butterfly, which has defied the cold and death of winter symbolizes freedom; freedom that Ethan is unable to attain because he is trapped in a loveless marriage.

When Ethan goes to his study and lays down on the sofa, a cushion that Zeena made for him — the only piece of needlework that Zeena had ever done — pokes him in the cheek.

Ethan sadly tells her that he is “tied hand and foot,” and that there isn’t anything he can do. Mattie asks him to write to her and Ethan replies that writing is no good, when what he wants to do is be with her, and take care of her when she’s sick or lonely.

Why did Ethan and Zeena remain in Starkfield after their marriage? -Zeena liked living in a small town because she felt more important and liked looking down on people. As opposed to her living in a big city where people would look down on her instead. Why does Ethan find it difficult to ask Mr.

Zeena accuses Mattie of taking from her the thing she cared for most of all. She says she always knew Mattie was a bad girl, and adds that she should have thrown Mattie out long ago.

Later, in Chapter VIII of Edith Wharton’s novella, Ethan experiences “[C]onfused notions of rebellion.” So, he decides to go to back to the kindhearted Andrew Hale, hoping that Hale can be persuaded to advance him a small sum afterall.

Who is Mattie Silver and why is her presence so important to Ethan Frome? Mattie Silver is Zeena’s cousin who takes care of her. Her presence is important to Frome, because he likes her and she brings joy to him.

Ethan experiences an internal conflict when he realizes that he is in love with Mattie. He feels that it would be unfair to Mattie to reveal his feelings or to provoke her feelings for him. He watches Mattie dance with Eady and feels jealous but is unable to voice his feelings; he is, after all, married to Zeena.

Wharton likely based the story of Ethan and Mattie’s sledding experience on an accident that she had heard about in 1904 in Lenox, Massachusetts. Five people total were involved in the real-life accident, four girls and one boy. It is among the few works by Wharton with a rural setting.

Ethan is reluctant to accompany Zeena up the stairs into their bedroom because he does not want Mattie to see him following Zeena rather than following her, but Mattie seems to secretly urge him to go to bed with Zeena because she does not want Ethan and Zeena to fight with each other.

How does Ethan feel about escorting Mattie? At first he sees it as a chore, then he begins to look forward to it. What causes Ethan to believe Zenobia is jealous of Mattie? He wants time to think about his feelings for Zeena/ Maddie; he says he has mill accounts to go over.