ently, Mattie is incapable of comprehending the beauty of nature without comparing it to something as superficial as a painting. Physically, Mattie is unable to adapt to the occasionally hard work she has to do at the Frome’s home. Ethan “does his best to supplement her unskilled efforts, getting up earlier than usual to light the kitchen fire, carrying in the wood overnight, and neglecting the mill for the farm that he might help her about the house during the day. He even crept down Saturday nights to scrub the kitchen floor after the women had gone to bed” (Wharton 25). Mattie’s inability to do her job causes hardship for Ethan and shows that she is unable to complete her job because she is a weak woman.In general, women in Ethan Frome were seen as burdens. Ethan was forced to care for his mother, and once Zeena had become sure of her illness, he was forced to care for her as well. Ethan married Zeena out of fear of being alone and regretted it forever after, and he “often thought since that it would not have happened if his mother had died in the spring instead of the winter” (Wharton 35). Winter for Frome was a miserable time for Ethan, symbolizing loneliness and bitterness (Freeservers 1), and he married Zeena because of the loneliness. Ethan is a handcuffed convict, a prisoner for life (Magill 3537). Mattie and Zeena have trapped him in the hateful town until his death.Edith Wharton and F. Scott Fitzgerald unnecessarily vilify women in their novels. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby portrays women as objects, meant only for fun and pleasure, certainly incapable of independent thought or responsible action. Wharton’s Ethan Frome displays women as evil characters who seduce and tempt men, only to leave them hurt in the end. Wharton and Fitzgerald are typical of many American authors who needlessly vilify women in their novels. ...
