2nd Response Ethan Frome

Ethan's character is shows his true colors following the flashback. His social silence that he presented to the Narrator is the same of that decades before. He is a shy person, that cowards before anything that frightens him, whether it is a man threatening him, or even the women of his dreams. But as the story moves on, his character is revealed to show a secret. His secret, or rather what he thinks is a secret, is his love for Mattie. He ignorantly believes to be the only one to know this secret. But it is obvious from their actions, that both Mattie and his wife are well aware of his passionate love. His wife is cold to him when talking about Mattie, and at one point she tries to spy on them, by staying awake while Mattie and Ethan return home one night. Ethan refused to go to bed when his wife asked him to, but at the instant Mattie retired to her bedroom, Ethan soon followed her example, and went to his own bedroom. This action was of course, not missed by Mattie or his wife. It is apparent, that whatever "incident" that caused Ethan to have a scar across his face, as well as his stunted walk, will be a result of his forbidden love.