Loneliness In Ethan Frome By Edith Wharton
Carl Jung once said, “Loneliness does not come from having no people around you, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you.” After all, people in desperate situation will often feel defeated because all of their plans and ambitions in life have failed. The fact that these individuals lack a meaningful and open relationship causes them to feel depressed and unwanted, a condition that we refer to as loneliness. Loneliness is not just limited just to everyday life, but can be found as a theme in both modern and traditional literature. An example of this is Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, which takes place in Starkfield, a fictional town in the New England countryside. In this tragic love story, Wharton uses the theme
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With flashbacks, Ethan recalls the time when he married his wife Zeena. The narrator says, “When they married it was agreed that, as soon as he could straighten out the difficulties resulting from Mrs. Frome’s long illness, they would sell the farm and saw-mill and try their luck in a large town… where there are lectures and big libraries and ‘fellows doing things’” (Wharton 38). Ethan has decided that while being away from Starkfield, he would become an engineer, a profession he has always wanted to be. This, along with his desire to see the world, adds to his desire to leave his hometown. The problem is that after waiting for the farm to be sold, Zeena develops hypochondria, an obsession of having a serious medical condition. This, in turns, makes Ethan’s wish to move to a larger town and become an engineer impractical. When Jung says that “Loneliness does not come from having no people around you, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you,” he is suggesting that loneliness is caused by an unhealthy relationship, one without any romantic attachment. This lack of emotional bond between the couple captures Ethan’s loneliness. For example, Ethan does not take the initiative to confront his wife about his ambitions in life, something that he holds great importance to. If Ethan is not lonely, he would have no trouble explaining to Zeena about what seems important to him. However, the fact that Ethan does not have someone who understands his desire to meet new people and start life anew fulfills the requirement as to what it means to be
With flashbacks, Ethan recalls the time when he married his wife Zeena. The narrator says, “When they married it was agreed that, as soon as he could straighten out the difficulties resulting from Mrs. Frome’s long illness, they would sell the farm and saw-mill and try their luck in a large town… where there are lectures and big libraries and ‘fellows doing things’” (Wharton 38). Ethan has decided that while being away from Starkfield, he would become an engineer, a profession he has always wanted to be. This, along with his desire to see the world, adds to his desire to leave his hometown. The problem is that after waiting for the farm to be sold, Zeena develops hypochondria, an obsession of having a serious medical condition. This, in turns, makes Ethan’s wish to move to a larger town and become an engineer impractical. When Jung says that “Loneliness does not come from having no people around you, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you,” he is suggesting that loneliness is caused by an unhealthy relationship, one without any romantic attachment. This lack of emotional bond between the couple captures Ethan’s loneliness. For example, Ethan does not take the initiative to confront his wife about his ambitions in life, something that he holds great importance to. If Ethan is not lonely, he would have no trouble explaining to Zeena about what seems important to him. However, the fact that Ethan does not have someone who understands his desire to meet new people and start life anew fulfills the requirement as to what it means to be