Ethan Frome And The Glass Menagerie Analysis

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Ethan Frome vs. The Glass Menagerie Between the two stories, Ethan Frome and The Glass Menagerie, there are many parallels between the main characters. In both stories there is an overbearing female figure, a man who wishes to escape from the oppressive clutches of said female, and a person who is charming and desirable to provide a means of escape. Ethan Frome’s and Tom Wingfield’s situations are similar in a variety of ways although their and circumstances may be different. Even though Ethan ultimately chose to bind himself to Starkfield when he asked Zeena to marry him, compared to Tom who is bound to stay in St. Louis so his mother and sister can survive, he and Ethan share the same feeling: they are trapped by an overbearing…show more content…
Mattie is young, beautiful, and the object of Ethan’s affection when he falls out of love with Zeena. When Mattie is around, everything is bright and happy, even when Zeena is in the vicinity. She transports Ethan from Zeena’s cold, bleak world to Mattie’s own sunshiny, beautiful world. Mattie also ends up being Ethan’s downfall when their failed attempt at suicide leaves them both crippled. Jim O’Connor was Tom Wingfield’s potential escape from his mom. Earlier on in the story, Amanda makes a deal with Tom that if he can find his socially challenged sister, Laura, a husband to take care of her, he can leave and never come back. When Jim comes, he leads Laura on and gives her and everyone else the impression that he likes her. But at the last minute, he tells everyone that he is engaged to be married and then makes a hasty exit. Shortly thereafter, Tom and Amanda get into an argument and Tom abandons them right then and there out of anger. Jim was Tom’s near escape. If only Jim had married Laura, he would have been able to leave Laura and Amanda behind without ever being prisoner to his guilt and his memories. While these two stories may be very different, they are also very much alike. The main characters in Ethan Frome and The Glass Menagerie function in the same ways and have

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