Ethan Frome is characterised by

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Luke Snell        English Coursework

Ethan Frome is characterised by “its unyielding and shocking pessimism, its bleak demonstration of tragic waste.” To what extent is this true of the novel?

Edith Wharton has succeeded in creating a place, which by its very name, is isolated and desolate – a “mute melancholy landscape”, which unrelentingly consumes those within, preventing them from ever escaping its grasp. Furthermore, Wharton’s novel delves into the human psyche, to give a glimpse of manipulation and entrapment. The prevailing mood is continually bleak and tragic, with only brief interludes of hope and romance, which are quickly ruined. Indeed, the main characters are often portrayed as victims; of their life, destiny and of their harsh surroundings.

The structure of Wharton’s novel helps to establish the mood and atmosphere. The non-linear narrative gives the reader a glimpse of the tragedy that is soon to follow. At the beginning of the book, Ethan Frome is shown as a suffering “ruin of a man”, struggling against his disability, emphasising the tragic qualities of the novel. Moreover, Wharton uses tragic foreshadowing to inform us that something will inevitably and tragically cripple the main character. This knowledge creates a pessimistic mood, constantly pre-empting the upcoming catastrophe that will forever alter Ethan Frome’s life.  Additionally, the attempted suicide, the “smash up”, is mentioned three times in the prologue, further indicating tragedy. The juxtaposition of Ethan Frome in the past (when he was fit, healthy and dignified), and in the future (when he was crippled, and only a diminished memory of his former self), predicts the forthcoming tragedy, and illustrates the affect it will have upon Ethan. It foresees that he will soon be stripped of all his power and violently deprived of his dignity – Ethan looks as he is “dead and in hell”. It seems Ethan Frome’s destiny is to become “bleak and unapproachable”. Indeed, the prologue shows the future Frome in “distress” and “oppression”, further suggesting that something will ruin his life. All this impending disaster and the suffering that will inevitably follow, is shown in the prologue, establishes the tragic mood and bleak atmosphere. This frame narrative is used as a means for tragic foreshadowing, as is the narrator.

The anonymous narrator is merely a device to introduce the main character and his plight. However, the actual point of view of the narrator is much more important, as it helps to create the mood and establish the emotions, specifically sympathy and compassion, felt towards Ethan, and to some extent Mattie. The narrator is subjective, and displays a certain amount of bias towards Ethan. As the narrator is an outsider and not a villager, and therefore has not been consumed by the bleak surroundings, he sheds a different light onto the situation. We are told that the narrator is only “anchored at Starkfield … for the best part of the Winter”. If the narrator was one of the opinionated villagers, the novel would be given a different spin; and Ethan might be seen as scoundrel and philanderer. The narrator’s viewpoint creates sympathy and helps us to identify with Ethan’s hope, and his continuing devotion to his tragic life, which Ethan and the narrator both obviously deplores. The narrator, as an outsider, represents the reader; also an outsider to the unusual townsfolk. He is critical of the townsfolk, often using irony and a satirical language,`  creating a harsh tone, hinting at the antiquated views of Starkfield’s inhabitants that we as an outsider will identify with and accept. In this way, the narrator is used to create an atmosphere, and as a means to denounce Starkfield and its inhabitants. This sympathy created for Ethan contributes to an image of Ethan as a “tragic hero”, thus underlining and exaggerating his suffering.

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The physical setting helps form the tragic atmosphere, and epitomises the mood. Starkfield is deliberately illustrated as a bleak, barren wasteland full of “woe”. All its inhabitants struggle against Starkfield’s restrictive weather and geological relief. The isolated and snowbound confinement is distinctly described; “the smart ones get away”, indicating that people who stay in Starkfield end up deprived and stripped of all prosperity. In the case of Frome, Starkfield denies him of his hope and dreams, keeping him trapped in a place he longs to escape from. His desire to leave is denoted several times; once when we are ...

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