The Movie Version of Ethan Frome - Essay Example

This problem is evident in the character of Ethan in the movie. He is vocal about his feelings in the movie as compared to the book. He rarely interacts with Mattie in the novel, but in the movie, their style of conversation is active and noticeable. The kitchen scene is the key to understanding this difference.

In the movie, from the beginning, Ethan is quite vocal and expressive about his feelings for Mattie but in the book, there exists a studied silence between the two. The other incidental difference in the kitchen scene is, in the movie the cat breaks Zeena’s dish; in the book, Mattie breaks it. In the movie, the character of Ethan is not as pivotal as it is in the book. In the book, the beginning and end are constructed from the point of view of the narrator, and Ethan’s actions figure prominently and his view on life pervades through the story.

In the first scene in the movie, the narrator arrives at Starkfield as a Minister and sees Ethan in the train station; in the book, the story begins in a post office and Ethan picks up a package; there is no Minister in the book. Ethan is an entirely different personality in the movie. His communication with Mattie is shown in a different wavelength as compared to the book. His disposition toward the people of Starkfield is also different. About the interaction of the people with Ethan Edith Wharton writes, “Everyone in Starkfield knew him and gave him a greeting tempered to his grave mien; but his taciturnity was respected and it was only on rare occasions that one of the older men of the place detained him for a word.”(5)He prefers silence with them as per the depiction of his personality in the book, and in the movie, he is quite vocal expressing his opinions with the bystanders who look upon him with curiosity kindled.

The support for Ethan comes from a different point of view in the novel and the movie. In the movie, the entire town is ostracizing Ethan, but in the book, he is crippled and the townspeople do not take notice of his plight. This is a vital change incorporated in the movie, for it highlights the antipathy that is prevalent between Ethan and the people in Starkfield. Symbolism is effectively used to strengthen the genre of romance in the movie. The gold locket indicates that Ethan is the man for Mattie.

When she loses it, many young men make efforts to locate it, but it turns out that Ethan succeeds in finding it. In the movie, lots of attention is paid to the scenery, and by no means is it a great love story. No love scenes that one remembers for a long time to come after seeing the movie are there. But the movie recreates the crucial events in the life of Ethan, as depicted in the novel. He is a poor farmer, sensitive by heart. But his wife Zeena is mean-spirited and does not contribute to his life much in any area, let alone love.