The Awakening And Ethan Frome: Passage Analysis

John Gardner's passage touches upon the reasons we read and write, and what distinguishes true morality from that of prejudices elevated to ethics. I agree with the passage to an extent; his point on an artist needing to present a strong case, for people to judge for themselves, and not force their morals upon people is true. However, I disagree with his point of needing a strong character to be able to develop a message, and that the purpose of the plot is just that a placeholder for the characters. The Awakening and Ethan Frome can be related to this passage, both helping to support it and disenfranchise it. Gardner starts the passage out by touching upon the idea that often we find in fiction, people not writing about true morality, but
“The artist never forces anyone to do anything. He merely makes his case the strongest case possible”(Gardner). As I touched upon earlier, too often does it seem an author attempts to impose his will on us. People are much less likely to even consider a point if it is forced upon them. Rather, if you want to convince people of something, give them the facts, give them your case, and then they can make the choice for themselves. In The Awakening we are given just that, the facts. We are told of Edna’s mistakes, marrying someone she doesn't truly love and not following her dreams and passions until it was too late. Chopin doesn’t up and tell us that we’ll be unhappy if we make the same choices as Edna, but rather shows us Edna’s choices, how they turn out, and leaves it at that. She presents Edna’s case, and doesn't force a thing upon the reader, it is up to them if they want to walk away with a message or change in thought. “She looked in the distance and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again. Edna heard her father’s voice and her sister Margaret’s. She heard the barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree. The spurs of the cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch. There was a hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air”(Chopin). Just like that the book ends, case closed, take
“ The artist who has no strong feeling about his characters - the artist who can feel passionate only about his words or ideas - has no urgent reason to think hard about the characters problems, the themes in his fiction”(Gardner). This is simply not true, characters are not always needed to develop your message and themes in a novel. One only has to look to Ethan Frome to see this is inherently false. Ethan Frome is devoid of any bright, unique characters and mostly relies on the plot to move it along. Most of the characters could be replaced, and the novel would still retain its message. "Sickness and trouble: that's what Ethan's had his plate full up with, ever since the very first helping”(Wharton). The plot of sickness and trouble is what pushes forth Ethan’s character, and is the main driving point of the story. Characters however can also help to provide a message to the readers. In The Awakening, we focus in on Edna, a very unique character in her own right. Replace her with anyone else and the story drastically changes. She moves the plot forward unlike in Ethan Frome. “Without even waiting for an answer from her husband regarding his opinions or wishes in the matter, Edna hastened her preparations for quitting her home on Esplanade Street and moving into the little house around the block”(Chopin). Here we see Edna driving the plot, not letting the situation control her but controlling the