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 told he could have been a “successful scholar”, and again where he pleads to Mattie to escape to a new life; away from Starkfield and Zeena. The landscape and setting have an affect on Frome’s personality. For example, we are told that he “seemed a part of the mute, melancholy landscape” and “an incarnation of its [Starkfield’s] frozen woe”. We are also told that Ethan’s previous vibrant self (similar to Mattie’s) is “bound below the surface”. It appears that Ethan’s very life-force has been drained by this desolate place. The setting itself is a personification of pessimism. And without the harsh climate, the mood would not be as tragic or bleak.
The community also adversely traps Ethan. Their stifling, insular views restrict Ethan and his longing for happiness. In some respects, just as Ethan mirrors his bleak surroundings, so do the villagers. They are all products of their environment; “diminished”, and possibly all that reside there have been in Starkfield “too many winters”. The deadness of the inhabitants is shown frequently, they seem to mirror the background., and only offer Ethan the seem “distress and oppression” that he gets from his physical surroundings.
How the main characters are portrayed also affects the mood. Ethan is depicted as a noble man, struggling against his own nobility and morality. For instance, we are frequently told that Ethan had the chance to become a learned scholar, but sacrificed it all to care for his dying parents, and then for his sickly wife. Ethan is tormented and has had to watch everyone he cares about suffer, “Fust his father – then his mother – then his wife”. Furthermore, Ethan has little power to relieve the pain he or his dying relatives are confronted with, a further source of torment. In addition, he must live with the pain of not being able to admit his love for Mattie, due to his own honour and lack of moral corruption. This sacrifice and “premature end to Ethan’s studies” shows how his own integrity and heroic qualities have hindered him; keeping him trapped in the “harsh”, bleak land of Starkfield. In addition, after his parents died, his own sense of duty compelled him to marry his parents’ carer, who had worked tirelessly to alleviate their suffering. This carer, Zeena, turned into a manipulative, cold woman; spiteful and bitter. Zeena denies him any happiness, and plays on her illness to get Ethan to carry out her errands. Also, it is Ethan’s own personality, full of goodwill, honesty and loyalty which traps him in this union, preventing him from ever escaping. His moment of “compassion”, causes him sympathy for Zeena, and he feels it hard to break free from her clutches – Ethan faces “oppression” every single day. Again, it is his own righteousness and decency, which prevents him from abandoning Zeena and having an affair with Mattie. However Ethan’s morality is tested by his continuing feelings for Mattie; this passion is a dent in his integrity.
Moreover it seems that everything in his surroundings prevent him from ever escaping and realising his dreams. It seems that it is Ethan’s destiny to stay in this god-forsaken hell and never fulfil his wasted potential. For example the setting of isolated Starkfield keeps him from his studies and the lifestyle he desperately craves. The insular and restrictive ways of the villagers, scorn his love and happiness with Mattie and stop him from living his life how he would wish. If it hadn’t of been for his surroundings, Ethan might have had the strength to break free and make something of his life, everything has “barred his way”. This prevention could be seen as a form of tragic foreshadowing, as it is inevitable that Ethan’s life will end in tragedy, as he is constantly impeded from his hopes and dreams. Although, Ethan has suffered enough in his life, and should be allowed this opportunity for the hard-ship he has incurred. This ambiguity is clear, and is left open to interpretation. Ethan’s dreams are always thwarted; maybe due to his wife, life, the village or the setting, and even at the end his plans are frustrated, and he is left permanently crippled after a frustrated suicide attempt. Likewise, in the epilogue we see that Ethan has to face his incapacitated, disabled love; who he can never share his life with, in the way he wants. It seems that as a punishment for Ethan’s attempted escape from the woe of Starkfield he is left alive and crippled and forced every day to reside with the one he longs to love. This feeling of restraint by his disability, and by his surroundings and cruel wife Zeena is epitomised when his lameness and emotional entrapment is described as “the jerk of a chain”. It is clear that Ethan hates his circumstance, when he is described as “dead and in hell”. Ethan is indeed a victim of his situation, and his life seems to have spiralled out of control. Ethan may be viewed as a parallel to a Greek hero; whose life is bound to tragedy, to circumstances beyond his control.
In addition, naturally as one would expect, Ethan’s situation causes him grief and torment. Watching his relatives die, coping with his incapability due to the “smash-up” and then watching the love he longs to be with disintegrate into a mirror of his cruel wife, who he so wholeheartedly despises, tortures his soul. Mattie’s deterioration is clearly shown in the epilogue, when the narrator gives a description of her that we might expect to be of Zeena – Mattie whines “complainingly” and is rather un-receptive.
Zeena is perceived as a manipulative, heartless woman, who controls Ethan for her own devices. Indeed, Zeena is described as “evil energy”, the embodiment of bitterness and cruelty. She is indeed a complete opposite to Ethan’s kindness and at many points Zeena shows complete immorality. Zeena unfairly, callously and unmercifully exploits Ethan’s caring nature and integrity. An example of Zeena’s manipulation of language to control Ethan comes when she proclaims, possibly in false resentment: “you grudged me … my health, when I lost it nursing your own mother!”. Zeena clearly plays on Ethan’s dutiful nature, by appealing to his integrity, and blaming her sickness on Ethan’s mother, and therefore Ethan. Again, Zeena exploits Ethan’s morality, “you grudged me the money to get my health back”. Here, she portrays Ethan as heartless and unjust for not providing her with money, that may aid her recovery, even though she knows Ethan cannot afford this money due to his impoverished lifestyle. These words make Ethan feel ashamed and guilty; as he believes that he should be able to provide sufficiently for Zeena.
However, it is never mentioned why Zeena behaves in such an unfair, acrimonious way. Possibly it is because she feels cheated, as she does not love Ethan, and is stuck in a relationship with a person who does not love her, and despises her, causing bitterness and resentment to grow inside her. In this sense, Zeena is also a victim of her circumstance, and is unable to change her destiny. Zeena is constantly described with cold “gray” colours, which mirrors the landscape and her personality. She also traps Ethan in the same way as the insular, restrictive town, preventing him from ever reaching his full potential and realising his dreams. Zeena could also be compared to the ancient leader Zenobia, an evil leader, who controlled her people viciously and ruthlessly.
Mattie is the antithesis of Zeena and is symbolic of Ethan’s unyielding hope. In contrast to Zeena, Mattie is always shown in association with bright, vibrant colours, which show her warmth and hope. She is the only character that injects hope into an otherwise restrictive harsh land.
Mattie often wears the colour red, which is symbolic of her passion. For instance, Mattie is said to be wearing a “cherry coloured ‘fascinator’”. Mattie’s hope is juxtaposed with Zeena’s pessimism and repression. Zeena is constantly associated with the shades of silver, symbolising her bitterness and her cold personality. Mattie is also the representation of someone young and vivacious being ensnared by Starkfield, and unwillingly transformed into a bitter twisted hag. In this sense, Mattie is shown as a victim of her own predicament. In the epilogue Mattie is described as: “her face was bloodless” and “witch-like” – a mirror image of Zeena; completely different to her earlier self. In the epilogue Mattie is describes in the same colours as Zeena has been previously; empathising that Mattie has also turned out to be bitter and hostile.
In summary, all the characters are victims of some sort. They all suffer as a result of where they live – the village, the narrow-mindedness of the people and insular views of the people there. The “smash-up” ensures all three victims remain trapped in their unhappiness, which breeds resentment and hatred, blackening the mood further.
One may ask what the purpose of Wharton’s novel is. It may be, as she herself described, a means to illustrate to the World the “grim places…isolated farm houses on neighbouring hills”. Wharton could merely be trying to communicate to the World the harshness of New England life (and maybe the harshness of life in general), which “portrays her own personal situation”. Wharton was indeed once an inhabitant of a similar village, and this novel may been based upon her former life. It may even be said that Zeena may correspond to her own manipulative cruel spouse, at the hands of whom “she had suffered for many years”. Wharton may also have tried to convey the idea of a fatalist World, one which prevents happiness and people from living their dreams. Some might argue that Wharton is trying to say that deception of a spouse may lead to punishment and moral demise. Indeed, Ethan does wish for an affair, which is immoral, and Ethan Frome’s crippled figure may represent Wharton’s crippled and guilty conscience, for she too indulged in an affair.
Whatever the writer’s purpose, it is clear that the novel does show an unyielding attitude of pessimism. The mood is predominantly bleak and harsh. The novel describes the tragic devastation caused by the harshness of the land, setting and people. Finally, it can be said that Wharton’s melancholy and disheartening novel communicates a story of life-long suffering and the bitterness incurred through this tragic life.
As described by Wharton in her memoirs - A Backward Glance
Credited to R.W.B Lewis, Wharton’s biographer. Taken from; Edith Wharton: A Biography
Quoted from Elaine Showalter, a novel critic.