The main moral lesson taught by her in this novel is that there are some obstacles to fulfilling the desires of individuals in society or in this world, and those are morality and society itself. Their desire for Ethan is to cheat on her wife, and he wants to marry another woman, but just because of society and the happiness of his family, he is not able to do so.
The contradiction does not stalk from inside Ethan’s own heart, including his own feelings for Mattie that can’t be denied and never waver. In its place, the struggle occurs between his desires and the limitations employed on him through the society that is the controller of his morality and hampers the fulfillment of his desires.
So, society is the biggest hurdle for the fulfillment of desire, and people used to hide them just for the sake of society. In the novel, it is described again and again that social convention is one of the main things that is controlling Ethan’s desires of Ethan.
The technique used to convey this lesson to the readers is glowing and youthful attractiveness in the lady with whom he wants to marry. She is using some instances as a technique to convey this message that society is the biggest hurdle that restricts someone from fulfilling their desires.
For instance, one night, Ethan was all alone with Mattie at home, but he did not try to talk to her and remained on his duty just because of the norms of society.
Finally, Ethan chooses the battle based on his wishes and social and moral guidelines. Needing the bravery and power of will to face down their power, he selects the wild burdens of life by deserting life itself (Springer, 1993).
References
Springer, M. (1993). Ethan Frome: A Nightmare of Need. New York City: Twayne Publishers.
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