Ethan Frome: Exploring the Modern Tragic Hero in Edith Wharton's Novel

This essay provides an analysis of Ethan Frome as a modern tragic hero in Edith Wharton's novel. It begins by summarizing Ethan's life, highlighting his flawed decision-making, such as his marriage to Zeena and his feelings for Mattie. The essay then delves into the comparison between classical and modern tragic heroes, explaining how Ethan embodies the modern archetype, being an ordinary man whose decisions lead to his downfall. The essay references Ethan's sacrifices, his internal conflicts, and the tragic ending of the story, where his choices lead to a life of unhappiness. The essay uses supporting references to emphasize the evolution of the tragic hero concept and the impact of flawed decisions on the character's destiny. The essay highlights how Ethan's actions and the consequences of his choices make him a relatable modern tragic hero, whose story resonates with readers due to its focus on personal struggles and the repercussions of poor judgment.

2020
ETHAN FROME: TRAGIC HERO
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ETHAN FROME: TRAGIC HERO 1
Ethan Frome: Tragic Hero
Ethan Frome, a character of the novel written by Edith Wharton, an American Author,
represents a modern tragic hero, who is a common and an ordinary man and has lived a
miserable life. Ethan’s studies hampered due to the death of his father, as he was required to
stay at home and take care of his mother, but due to her illness he lost his mother too. To
overcome his loneliness, he marries Zeena who was a caretaker for his mother. The decision
of marrying with Zeena was a flawed decision for Ethan (Wharton 22). The essay focuses on
analysing the character of Ethan Frome and identifying the difference between classical and
modern tragic hero.
Ethan finds an understanding between him and Mattie (cousin of Zeena) but thinks that it
would be unfair with Zeena, if he expresses his feelings for Mattie, therefore, he decides to
stay quiet. But when Zeena tells Ethan that Mattie has to leave the house because her
condition is going worse with the time and a hired girl is coming to take care of Zeena. Then,
to avoid the situation Ethan and Mattie decides to attempt suicide so that they can be free
from their miserable lives, but the flawed tragic decision make then a prisoner of the
circumstances, as they failed and the story does not end with a happy ending, as the crippled
Ethan, Mattie suffering from a spinal disease and Zeena, all are living under a single roof as
an unhappy family (Wharton 78). Therefore, the story details that the flawed tragic decisions
result in the downfall of the hero and even results in a sad ending. Ethan serves a sense of
being of hero by staying beside Zeena to take care of her, sacrificed hopes and dreams for
taking care of his mother, and continues to live his life with dissatisfaction. But the decisions
taken by Ethan are proof that the flaws in the decision of tragic hero result in the unhappy
ending of the story or his life.

ETHAN FROME: TRAGIC HERO 2
A Tragic hero is a character that leads to his destruction due to his judgement errors or any
flaw in his decision making. The use of the term tragic hero has evolved from the timeline,
from being a classical tragic hero to modern tragic hero. The classical tragic hero was
believed to come from a noble and a high standing background, who is usually a king or
interpreted as a hero. The classical tragic hero was considered to have one major flaw due to
which the hero fails to achieve its ultimate goal or the objective, and as a result, the hero
faces destruction and goes from high standing too low standing (Teenink).
The modern definition of the tragic hero does not require that the character comes from a
strong background or is considered as a hero within the society. The tragic hero may be a
common or an ordinary person. The story revolves around the life of the person and his
ambitions in life and how the flaws in his action lead to his destruction and downfall. The
story based on a traditional tragic person is more about the royalty, the attempts of the hero to
save his kingdom or to unify the society. Therefore, the people can connect more with the
modern tragic hero as compared to a classical tragic hero (Rahman 54).

ETHAN FROME: TRAGIC HERO 3
References
Rahman, Mahbuba. Evolution of the Tragic Hero: A Shift from God to Man. Thesis.
Bangladesh: BRAC University, Dhaka, 2015.
Teenink. An Analysis of Theatre Tragedy and The Tragic Hero: Classical vs Modern. 13
March 2016. http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/academic/article/877851/An-
Analysis-Of-Theatre-Tragedy-And-The-Tragic-Hero-Classical-Vs-Modern. 04
February 2020.
Wharton, Edith. Ethan Frome: American Literature. VM eBooks, 2016.