Morality In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is a novel dealing with a young man’s persistent battle between his desires and moral principles. The story is set in 17th century New England in a rural community. The town of Starkfield is an area in which northern winters siege the inhabitants and hinder their daily lives. The characters within the novel must resist the frigid climate as it is a major impediment throughout the novel. Ultimately, Ethan Frome faces a conflict between his emotional desires and moral concerns. While he holds an individual desire to love Mattie, his moral principles state that he must not cheat on his wife. Essentially, the setting contributes to this theme because Ethan becomes buried emotionally beneath the frigid Starkfield winter. The central theme involving the conflict between desires and moral …show more content…
Ethan Frome is set in the rural town of Starkfield where the winters siege the inhabitants of the area. The theme of morality as an obstacle to individual desires is greatly affected by the setting. First of all, when Zeena has to visit the doctor, Ethan and Mattie share the house. However, Ethan displays a sense of physical shyness in regards to Mattie. The setting influences this theme because Ethan has lived in a poor, rural town all of his life. Everyone in Starkfield knows each other and if Ethan abandoned Zeena, he would be criticized by others within the tightly-knit town. Since Wharton sets the story in a tightly-knit community, Ethan must regard his moral principles to an even greater extent. If the other citizens found out that he abandoned Zeena and left her on a poverty-stricken farm, he would be ashamed of himself. Since Ethan lives in a poor, rural community, he does not want to leave Zeena submerged in economic distress. Therefore, placing the story in a tightly-woven community immersed in poverty causes Ethan’s moral concerns to affect his actions