Every decision we make may lead to a consequence, and in the novel Ethan Frome we grasp this lesson. I don’t believe that Ethan, Mattie, or Zeena deserved their fates. For example, Zeena was described as having an unpleasant appearance and was made out to be the villain in the story. She was mean towards Ethan and Mattie and, in my opinion, used her sickness as a way to manipulate and control Ethan. She made some mistakes and was full of negativity but I don’t believe she deserved her fate in the end. When she found out that her husband and cousin had an affair and rammed themselves into a tree in a failed attempt to commit suicide, she stayed faithful to them and took care of them when they became crippled. All people make mistakes, some worse than others, but I believe that the lesson to be learned in this novel is that every mistake leads to a consequence. …show more content…
Ethan had to deal with the sickness and loss of his mother. He wanted to leave Starkfield to become an engineer, but could not due to money problems and his wife’s sickness. He also felt trapped in a loveless marriage with Zeena and found happiness with Mattie. Ethan felt stuck between what he wanted in order to be happy, and what he felt he needed to do to please the society around him. Zeena cared for Ethan’s sick mother and after she passed away, she married Ethan and became sick herself. She was sick throughout the story and progressively got worse. Mattie lost both of her parents and was very poor. She was left with fifty dollars and worked at the Frome’s house as a maid in exchange for a roof over her head and food to