Ethan Frome Personal Choice

Life is What One Makes It “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” Gautama Buddha uttered these words as a memorandum for people to follow, meaning that every individual’s life is in his own hands. The opposite of this phrase being that humans can also be the chief instigator of their own demise through their actions. Every choice a person makes affects his future, either negatively or positively. In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, the dark and negative side of this philosophy is demonstrated thoroughly throughout the novel as Ethan’s tantamount faulty decision making leads him through a life of alienation and misery. Ethan Frome and modern society both bolster the notion that poor personal choices can send an individual into a downward spiral resulting in unhappiness and eventual tragedy. This tragedy can be a multitude of things that span many different topics. However, they are either separately or jointly attainable through individual actions. Love has always been a cause for pain and unhappiness in the world and how an individual handles its intricacy can determine whether we are fortunate enough to be graced by it. Ethan’s perfunctory decision in marriage is one we often see today. People marry early and young in their infatuations or for simplicity’s sake. When a major decision is taken lightly, such as marriage, it will have drastic effects for the rest of an individual’s life. In the time at which Ethan Frome takes place, divorce was simply not an option for couples. If the pair did not enjoy each other’s presence they would just bear it throughout life, such was the case with Ethan and Zenobia. Even if the two despised each other, they would not divorce and would live their lives miserably. Today marriage is undervalued and divorce is common and socially acceptable. In fact it is so common that according to a study done by Avvo, a legal advice and attorney company, in 2010 the divorce rate was nearly