Patriarchal Dreams: The Unreachable Longing for an Ideal White American Masculinity in Ethan Frome

Abstract

This article analyzes the novel Ethan Frome (1911) by American writer Edith Wharton. Specifically, the discussion focuses on the representation of the homonymous protagonist as a failed attempt to embody the hegemonic white American masculinity of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Frome’s depiction derives from his failure to improve his social status and intellectual skills, but also from his failure to become the successful provider and patriarch of the family. The influence of the female characters Zeena and Mattie is also considered in relation to the main character’s failure. To this end, the article draws on conceptualizations of patriarchy and the hegemonic models of masculinity and femininity in the US in that era.