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Example research essay topic: Ethan And Mattie Ethan Frome - 1,097 words

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It was almost as if the other face, the face of the superseded woman, had obliterated that of the intruder. Here, Ethan is horrified while seeing Zeena s face in her rocking chair instead of Mattie s. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is a book of love, hate, and tragedy but more so, it is a novel that is very similar to the Gothic Style of writing. In essence, a gothic novel is a type of fiction that includes mysterious and supernatural events that is intended to frighten or terrify the reader. As you may assume, Ethan Frome does not fit this interpretation totally, but it does have certain aspects that are definably gothic in style. The novel did not take place in a gloomy medieval castle, but its setting is in a dismal and barren town during the desolate wintertime.

No fearful characters or frightening scenes will be found in this novel, however it does contain eerie images, torpid townspeople, and ghostly ironies. Two principal scenes demonstrate the supernatural presence of Zeena on Ethan s mind; while Zeena is away at Bettesbridge, and during the suicide trip down Corbury Hill. In addition, there are three objects that play a key role in the gothic feel of the novel: the menacing elm tree, the dreary wintertime, and the Frome cemetery located next to Ethan s home. In chapter four while Zeena is away at Bettesbridge, a number eerie things occur at the Frome s.

Ethan is extremely excited about Zeena finally leaving and having the night alone with Mattie. The evening does not turn out as Ethan planned however. Symbolized by the cat, Zeena has a firm hold on Ethan's conscience. The cat jumps in Zeena s chair during dinner and a cold chill runs through Ethan and Mattie. The cat then jumps on to the table and when the two go to catch it, the cat backs away and knocks over a pickle dish which was Zeena s sacred wedding gift.

In addition, when Ethan and Mattie are getting too close, the cat leaps off Zeena s rocking chair sending into a spectacle that seems as if Zeena herself were actually rocking in it. In essence, Zeena s spirit is in the cat, telling it to do anything possible to bring Ethan down from the contented feeling he is having while alone with Mattie. Zeena s spirit does an even greater supernatural act on Ethan and Mattie s suicide ride. A second instance where Zeena has appeared on Ethan s mind during a crucial time in the book was the fateful sled ride down Corbury Hill into the big elm tree.

On the second run, the suicide run, Ethan notices Zeena s face in the tree that they eventually crash into. This causes Ethan to lose concentration for a split-second and veer off to one side of the tree. The couple did not fetch the tree and that image of Zeena s face caused them to fail the suicide attempt. The survival of the two may seem lucky for most but in actuality, it turns out to be a barrier between Ethan and the tranquillity has been looking forward to his entire life. In addition, this accident severely injures the couple. To Zeena, this event can now repay them for the pain she had been feeling for so long and the jealousy she held towards Mattie.

Edith Wharton mentions the elm tree and the everlasting winter many times, which leads you to believe the future implications of them in the lives of her main characters. The cold, stormy, and dismal winters in Starkfield are the prime source for all the bitterness and solitude of the townspeople. It is not healthy to be in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away, says Harmon Gow to the narrator.

At first the narrator does not realize what this means but he will soon find out. With a strike at the power company he works for, the narrator gets to know the winter and comments that it is shut down in Starkfield. He goes on to paints a grim picture of an almost lifeless town held in winters deathlike grip. For close to six months the town sags under the weight of snow.

Its pulse becomes sluggish, almost like an animal in hibernation. Living in such a place can crush a mans spirit. Even the name of the Massachusetts town reflects on its appearance during the winters. Stark suggests the barren, harsh, and desolate state the town turns to during that time of year. To some extent, the winters may help to explain not only Ethan's austere personality, but also the somber atmosphere of the town and its surrounding countryside. Along with the desolate feeling of gothic novels comes one of the objects most associated with them, the cemetery.

The last aspect of the gloominess and cheerlessness of Starkfield is the family cemetery located next to Ethan s house. The dead and cemeteries are often associated with gothic novels as well as the desolate and depressing feeling they bring to those around them. On the way home one night, Ethan glances at the cemetery and notices the headstone of an ancestor also named Ethan Frome, buried with his wife, Endurance. The inscription says that the pair had lived together in peace for fifty years. This eerie inscription foreshadows the amount of time he will have to endure with Zeena while he and Mattie are crippled. Mrs.

Hale says it best at the end of the novel when she illustrates the lack of difference between the Frome's up at the farm and the Frome's down in the graveyard. This is another reference to the extreme depression of the Frome's, and the almost comatose state they live through each day. Usually, it is effortless for the reader to tell what kind of story is being read. However, this is not the case for Ethan Frome, where there are multiple possibilities for a fitting classification. The scene with Zeena s cat taking her place at dinner, her face appearing on the elm tree, the comatose state of Starkfield in the wintertime, and the presence of the cemetery all are indicators of the gothic type of story Ethan Frome is. As one can see, Ethan Frome does not meet all the criteria for a gothic novel, for one it was not written in the gothic period.

However, it does contain many dismal and frightening references and depicts the hell on earth feeling that most characters of a gothic novel possess.


Free research essays on topics related to: gothic novels, edith wharton, ethan frome, ethan and mattie, elm tree

Research essay sample on Ethan And Mattie Ethan Frome

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