Ethan Frome Zeena

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Roya Zaka

Period 2

IB English

Evil Zeena

“Through the obscurity which hid their faces their thoughts seemed to dart at each other like serpents shooting venom. Ethan was seized with horror of physical fight between two enemies in the darkness. He turned to the shelf above the chimney, groped for matches and lit the one candle in the first room. At first, its weak flame made no impression on shadows; the Zeena’s face stood grimly out against the uncurtained pane, which had to turned from grey to black.” (48)

                In Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, Ethan “was seized with horror of physical fight between two enemies in the darkness.” Ethan finally realized he was never truly in love with his wife Zeena. He had an emotional barrier for Zeena that he finally expressed when meeting Mattie. Ethan did not want to be with someone who was intolerable like Zeena.

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        “Zeena’s face stood grimly out against the uncurtained pane, which had to turned from grey to black.” Zeena brings negativity and darkness to Ethan’s life; she is portrayed as an evil being in the passage. The text also foreshadows the perception that something will “unfold” in Ethan’s life. After seeing Zeena, Ethan views the dark in a different manner, not grey but black.  The word choices Ethan describes Zeena in the passage are negative and convey hatred towards Zeena.         

        Zeena and Ethan distinguished their problems; he “was seized with horror of physical fight between two enemies in the darkness.” ...

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