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In the book Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton the main character, Ethan is overcome with responsibilities. Some of these responsibilities are implied but Ethan s life is still affected by them. These responsibilities, implied or expressed, lead Ethan's life down the path it took. Some of the responsibilities were as simple as taking care of the farm, others complex such as marrying Zeena, and taking care of her and not leaving her in her sickness. One of Ethan's implied responsibilities is the running of the family farm.
Ethan grew up in a small farm town in Massachusetts called Starkfield. One of his goals in life was to get out of Starkfield and become something. His father s death, and the misfortunes following it, had put a premature end to Ethan s studies. This also ended Ethan's quest to get out of Starkfield for now, since Ethan couldn t leave his mother to run the farm while he was in college; so he dropped out and returned home. He felt he had a responsibility to take over the family farm and mill and become the man of the house. Another of Ethan's responsibilities was marrying Zeena; this was more of a moral responsibility then anything else.
After Ethan's mother grew ill Ethan's cousin Zeena came from a neighboring town to care for her. After a few years Ethan's mother died and Zeena was no longer needed. Ethan felt bad however and out of fear of dying alone and moral obligation to compensate her for giving up part of her life to nurse his mother, He asked her to stay there with him. He had often thought however that it would not have happened if his mother had died in spring instead of winter. This shows that he wouldn t have felt as obligated if the weather was more appealing for a young girl to go back home and look for a job. In addition, after marrying her he has given up all hope of returning to school and getting out of Starkfield.
Ethan's third responsibility was not leaving Zeena in her time of sickness. When Zeena became sick her cousin, Mattie Silver came to take care of her and the housework. Ethan found himself falling in love with Mattie, drawn to her youthful energy, as, The pure air, and the long summer hours in the open, gave life and elasticity to Mattie. Ethan thought about running away with Mattie to the west.
Once there he could start a family with her and Zeena could sell the farm back home. Since the farm and mill were mortgaged to the limit of their value she couldn t sell it, and even if she found a purchaser-in itself an unlikely chance-it was doubtful if she could clear a thousand dollars on the sale. It was only by incessant labor and personal supervision that Ethan drew a meager living from his land, and his wife, even if she were in better health than she imagined, could never carry such a burden alone. This shows that he feels responsible for her although he doesn t love her as much as Mattie, so he is forced to stay in Starkfield again out of responsibility to a family member. Ethan s life was full of responsibilities, to himself and others.
Ethan decided to undertake certain responsibilities, such as caring for the family farm, marrying Zeena, and staying with Zeena in her time of need. From this, one could deduce that Ethan encountered responsibilities that governed the course his life assumed.
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Research essay sample on Family Farm Taking Care
