Ethan Frome Language Analysis

The novel, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is a deterministic novel, meaning that the events in Ethan’s life are not in his control. Ethan sees Mattie as his ray of life. He wants to leave Zeena when he realizes that he has fallen in love with Mattie. In chapter eight Ethan was thinking about leaving with Mattie and deserting Zeena. Unfortunately, for Ethan that is not possible because he cannot afford to leave with Mattie and also his farm was mortgaged to the limit and Zeena would not be able to make any money by selling it. Ethan plans to leave with Mattie when she leaves, but unfortunately that’s not viable in this novel because it is a deterministic novel. Ethan Thinks it possible because he knows someone from a neighboring town left his wife for someone he loved. Ethan thought if all these good things are happening to the other couple then it could happen to him. He thinks that Zeena would be fine because “ the deserted wife had not done badly either. Her husband had given
While Ethan is in middle of writing his letter to Zeena he “...paused on the word, which brought home to him the relentless conditions of his lot.(pg105)”He concluded that he cannot leave Zeena because of all the issues. Wharton started to use diction when Ethan became frustrated with not being able to leave “he felt and hard object with a strange protuberances.(pg104)”. Wharton first uses the word protuberance instead of using a basic word like bump or bulge. Also in this sentence there is symbolism. The protuberance he feels is a cushion that Zeena made when they were engaged. This is symbolizing Zeena and how she can be aggravating. He is feeling “the inexorable facts closed in on him like prison-wanders handcuffing a convict. there was no way—out. He was a prisoner for life, and now his one ray of light was to be extinguished.” (pg107) He is trapped in his own