In Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, the title character, Ethan, is man of 28 stuck in a tedious marriage with a woman that he does not truly love. However, Ethan’s character and the morals of the day prevent him from leaving his wife for a woman who he is in love with. This says a lot about Ethan’s character. Not only is he very loyal, caring, and honest, but his morals and standards are something for everybody to admire. After reading this story, one might get the impression that Ethan got what he deserved for trying to leave Zeena.
However, on closer examination, we can see that although he wanted to leave Zeena, not in a physical way but by death, he still couldn’t. His loyalty to his wife forbade him. We can see this when Wharton writes, “ But suddenly his wife’s face, with twisted monstrous lineaments, thrust itself between him and his goal, and he made an instinctive movement to brush it aside. His caring side also relates to his loyalty. Although he didn’t love his wife, he did care for her well being. Honesty was also a feature of Ethan.
He was honest to his marriage and to himself. He didn’t do anything with Matty silver but he was honest about the fact that he loved her. He didn’t try to deny his love from himself, but admitted it. Ethan is a very complex person. His feelings and emotions are not as strong as his integrity and morals. In this day and age, it may seem odd, but in that time, a person had more respect for themselves and the well-being of others, and if their feelings got in the way, then their feelings would just have to take the back burner.