Mattie's Character In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton

Various people portray their emotions towards another in numerous ways. Some display them openly and others do that subtly. In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, Mattie has a relationship with Ethan and displays it in both ways. At the beginning of the novel, her feelings for him were difficult to decipher. Throughout the story, Mattie would show some hints of affection, but it would still be uncertain how she exactly felt about him. However, at the end, it became obvious that Mattie felt strongly about Ethan. Overall, Mattie was deeply passionate towards Ethan as shown by Ethan’s trust and comfort he provided for her. In the end, she had directly stated her love to him. First, Mattie portrays her emotions towards Ethan in slight ways. Their comfort and trust around each other is displayed in their relationship. They were friendly with each other despite Ethan being the master of Mattie, the
That clearly displays that Mattie would trust Ethan with her own life.
Mattie had shown that she was passionate towards Ethan since she seemed to be very comfortable around him and marked him as trustworthy. Mattie would lean towards Ethan when she is frightened. One example is when a loud noise vibrated through the forest. She had “shrank closer to Ethan, and quickened her steps” (26). This shows trust among them since Mattie had instinctively moved towards Ethan. During frightening situations, Mattie showed that she would rely on Ethan to protect her. In addition, Mattie shows that same trust in Ethan when she destroys Zeena’s pickle dish. She completely believes that he would rectify that issue even without asking him his method: “Completely reassured, she shone on him through tear-hung lashes, and his soul swelled with pride as he saw how his tone subdued her. She did not even ask what he had done” (47). These reasons of trust and comfort had led to Mattie’s overall passion towards