The history of Eliza Wharton by Hannah Webb Foster, is a book that tells the story of Eliza Wharton though the point of view of letters. The letters start off with you learning of a woman named Eliza Wharton, who is writing to her friend Lucy Freeman. During those letters, Eliza describes much of the events happening in her life. When we first meet Eliza she is in mourning for the death of her husband. Eliza describes how she wish she could learn something from his behavior, and how she now resides with friends.…
Edith Warthon was born in New York City into a very wealthy family. She was forced into a loveless marriage and eventually fell in love with another man. Her life closely resembles the two books she wrote--Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome. Age of Innocence was a novel by Edith Warthon that was turned into a movie. Newland was about to marry May when May’s cousin Ellen came from Europe to New York. Newland found himself wanting to be with Ellen rather than May. Ethan Frome was very similar to Age of Innocence and was the story of a poor man, his wife, and her cousin who find themselves in a love conflict. Ethan was married to Zeena, his very ill wife. In order for Ethan to continue to work, Zeena’s cousin, Mattie, came to take care of her. Ethan instantly fell for the young, charming, and beautiful Mattie. The film and the novel share similarities in the representation of symbolism and jealousy in the main characters yet differ in how their love affairs were resolved.…
What man played a key role in Vermont becoming a state? Here’s a hint! It begins with an E and ends with a N. He was a revolutionary figure.…
One of the most striking scenes in Edith Wharton’s novella, Ethan Frome, is the depiction of the would-be romantic evening that Ethan has with his wife’s cousin, Mattie. At this point in the novel it is clear that Ethan has feelings for Mattie and is unsure if she feels the same way.…
Harold and Maude is a romantic comedy film that focuses on the contrasts of youth and age, apathy and energy, and life and death. Harold Chasen is a wealthy young man with an obsession with death. He frequently stages mock suicides, so much so that his domineering mother doesn't pay attention. To entertain himself, Harold goes to funerals of people he never knew. On multiple occasions he runs into Maude Chardin, an energetic octogenarian woman who believes in living life to its fullest. An unusual friendship is formed between them, one in which Harold is taught to open himself to his feelings and the world and play the banjo. Their friendship evolves into a relationship, and they have sex. Harold plans on marrying Maude, but that plan ends when it is found that she purposely took a fatal dose of…
Society’s inevitable pressures and ones own moral standings can affect life greatly. In the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton social pressures and personal morals affect Ethan’s chance at happiness. This theme plays a prominent role in Ethan’s unfortunate circumstances during the novel. Ethan cannot leave his sickly wife Zeena due to the prejudice that would be placed by his community, and his own personal beliefs. Stemmed from social constraints Ethan lacks the mental strength to continue forward.…
Have you ever made a personal choice that ends up in a disaster? We have all made bad choices and sometimes it could be difficult to get out of a situation. As shown in the book, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, Ethan makes his own choice of continuing to stay in Starkfield. This book portrays Ethan as a victim of his own person choices and temperament.…
Do people need other people to live a joyful life? In Edith Wharton’s novella, Ethan Frome, many themes are expressed through the landscape and characters, but one recurring theme is “people need people”. Wharton used three main characters to elaborate on this theme. She created an epic love-triangle that is doomed from the beginning. The three came together because of each other's needs. Ethan and Zeena Frome are married. Zeena is a hypochondriac who is need of a caretaker. Mattie Silver, Zeena’s cousin, fills this role. On top of being a caretaker, she caught the attention of Ethan. Zeena needed of a caretaker because of her illnesses, Ethan needed human interaction, and Mattie needed the Frome household to also be her home.…
Sex, lies and deceit. These three things are what this novel is about. But it is so much more than that. In the book Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton, the author uses symbolism to represent many things such as death. Symbols such as Zeena’s red pickle dish, the cold season of winter, and the dead cucumber vine all represent important parts that make up this novel.…
Many people long to escape their own lives when faced with hardship. These people tend to lead unfulfilled, empty, cold lives. In Edith Wharton’s novella, Ethan Frome, the main character, Ethan, is trapped in Starkfield, a cold barren place and a reflection of Ethan’s own empty life. Ethan constantly tries to escape the hardships and cold landscape which holds him captive. As Ethan obsesses over the idea of escaping his own sad life, he ruins the lives of those around him, and blinds himself from the wonderful possibilities his life already holds. Every major character in Ethan Frome attempts to evade the hardships which are thrust upon them, but each character learns that hardship is not something one can escape; it is something one must embrace,…
By unfolding the story through secondary sources, Emily Bronte creates curiosity in the reader’s mind, causing them to wonder as to the events which occurred before Lockwood’s arrival at Thrushcross Grange. Lockwood’s narrative causes readers to enter the story when the majority of events have already taken place.…
The novel Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, is set in turn-of-the-century New England, in the fake town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. During this time, both men and women were torn between duty and morality, and personal desire. People were expected to follow the societal norms, which although plagued them, were deemed as correct and proper. This social constraint placed on individuals cause them to make the decision of whether to be accepted by society, or whether to be happy. During this time, society was trapped in a web of their own formed ideas and opinions. It is this constant struggle between desire and what is socially acceptable that drives…
Many literary classics explore the way in which fate is inevitable. August Strindberg’s infamously controversial play Miss Julie, written in 1888, pertains to that specific group of literary classics. His play tells the story of Julie, the daughter of a count and a commoner, who is driven by a desire to be apart of the lower social class. Overcome by her physical sexual needs but also the temptation of lowering herself socially, she goes to bed with her servant, Jean. This series of events leads to her suicide at the closing of the play. Through the characterization of Julie, Strindberg shows that humans can make choices, however these choices will only prolong their inevitable fate. This unavoidable fate of the protagonist creates strong sympathy in the audience. The playwright effectively foreshadows this unavoidable fate for Miss Julie through her mother’s psychological instabilities, her mother’s relationship with her lover and her father’s weak character.…
1. Sometimes I contemplate on life thinking about what’s good and what’s bad in this world. Sometimes I wonder why we have good times if bad times are going to ruin it anyway. Then I try to find answers of my own. We have bad times to have better times. As humans we learn from experiences based from wrong doing.…
Readers who come across Edith Wharton’s creations have most likely read her novels The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth. There are many similarities and differences placed throughout the two novels. A close reading of The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirthreveals Wharton’s use of similarities and differences of the themes of society and class, love and marriage: the love life of characters; and setting of the late 1800’s New York throughout the novels.…