What is a tragic hero? Most people would think this term simply means the
protagonist of a story that ends in a tragic way. But this interpretation is not entirely true.
In fact, a tragic hero is indeed the protagonist of a tragedy, but the more important part is
that they always have one flaw that leads them to their unhappiness. The novel Ethan
Frome by Edith Wharton can be considered a tragedy because the main character, Ethan,
has one tragic flaw. The protagonist from the story is antisocial and this one flaw leads to
an inability to express his feelings, loneliness, and a failed marriage.
Ethan Frome's antisocial behavior makes it impossible to express his feelings. He
is very unhappy with his marriage to Zeena but he never tells anyone how he feels. He
simply goes on with his life like nothing is wrong. This not only hurts himself, but Zeena
as well. He also cannot express his feelings for Mattie. One example of this is in chapter
five, right after Zeena has left for Bettsbridge. The scene is where Mattie is cleaning the
dishes and Ethan is leaving for work. It is the perfect opportunity for Ethan to tell her
how he feels because they are all alone, but all he can manage to say is, "So long, Matt."
Instead of acting on his emotions, he constantly thinks about them. Ethan's behavior
seems to make him create a fantasy world where he is always happy. He often gets lost in
his "world" and starts to think of outrageous things. For instance, after Ethan had gone to
bed the night he and Mattie were alone, he thinks to himself why he hadn't kissed her.
This is extremely inappropriate behavior considering he is married, but he doesn't realize
he is doing anything wrong. If Ethan didn't alienate himself from others as much, he could
express his feelings and live a happier life.
Ethan Frome became lonely because he wasn't an
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