In the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, there is one consistent ideal that stands out, the ideal of human suffering. Ethan Frome is chained to his horrible, stubborn wife Zeena and must constantly take care of her. Frome also suffered the same treatment at the hands of his mother and the transition from his mother's suffering to Zeena is almost seamless. When it seems he may escape his suffering with the temptress, Mattie Silver, he is brought back to his humble position. Zeena herself suffers because she is constantly sick and cannot take care of herself. Mattie is also in terrible pain and is almost completely paralyzed and forced to be cared for by Zeena and Ethan. However, as we can see, out of the three circumstances in which they all suffer badly, Ethan suffers the most. Ethan Frome, throughout the titular novel, suffers horribly and is responsible for very little; he is simply a victim of circumstances. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One of the main sufferings of Ethan Frome himself is the fact that he is constantly a slave to his wife and mother. Ethan had a presumably normal childhood, however, when he attempts to escape Starkfield for good, he is brought back from college to care for his sick mother who treats him poorly. As Harmon Gow said: “Someone had to stay and take care of the people. There is never any warning to anyone except Ethan” (Wharton 6). It was during this time that he met Zeena, who would eventually become his wife. Soon after her mother's death, Zeena takes the same place as Ethan's mother, adding to his misery and suffering. Ethan cannot control the events that happen to him. He is the victim of a horrible circumstance and is completely trapped by his morals of decency. The fact that Ethan is an honest man is the only thing he can control, and in making the moral choice to stick to his moral values, he finds himself in a position of agony. The reader can see his apprehension about leaving Zeena because of her morality, and even after his near-death experience, Ethan says he "should give her his food", showing his compassion towards a simple horse and if we delve deeper into his compassion towards the horrible Zeena. This continued prolongation of Ethan's horrible human condition and the abusive treatment of his mother and Zeena leads Ethan to dream and hope of escaping Starkfield, which leads to more pain and suffering. Ethan Frome's suffering continues and is even still caused not by Ethan but by the temptress, albeit unwitting, Mattie Silver. Mattie is everything Ethan dreams of and covets, but he can't escape the horrible tyrant Zeena who keeps him under her thumb. Ethan dreams of escape, as any natural person in his situation would, and sees Mattie as his true love and his chance to escape. It's not Ethan's fault because he's been repressed and tortured for so long that all he has left is hope and Mattie herself embodies hope. Ethan sees her as “taller, fuller, and more feminine in shape and movement” (Wharton 71), and she is all that is missing from his life. This causes enormous suffering for Ethan because his hope and love for Mattie grows, only to be horribly snatched away like the fruit of Tantalus. This creates such horrible suffering and none of this is directly a result of Ethan. Ethan also suffers as a victim of circumstance in the terrible results of the great Starkfield fracas. Ethan himself is physically paralyzed and mutilated for life, which ».…..