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Setting:
Background Information:
Characters:
Plot Summary:
Ethan was a young man taking care of his mother until she died. Ethan was afraid of being alone during that winter so he married his mother's nurse Zeena, who was an older woman. They had planned to move to a big city and start a new life. Lack of fertile land and enough money prevented their dreams from coming true. Zeena became sick and Ethan realized he was never getting out of Starkfield. After a while, Zeena stopped complaining because Ethan stopped listening. Their house became silent and cold. All of that changed when Mattie, Zeena's cousin comes to stay with them. She is a young, vibrant woman who brings life to the house. Ethan ends up falling in love with her. She offers the warm qualities of a relationship that Zeena never showed. Ethan does Mattie's chores around the house for her and sneaks extra time with her. Ethan found a companion who showed interest in him. It was almost like a childhood crush. Zeena is very suspicious of their relationship. The last straw was when Mattie broke the pickle dish while Zeena was away. This was significant because the pickle dish had never been used because it was the nicest thing they owned. Zeena gets rid of Mattie with the excuse that she needs a new nurse and they can't afford to keep both girls. Mattie has no place to go. Ethan stands up to Zeena and insists that he take her to the train. On the way to the train they stop to sleigh ride down a hill. After doing so, Mattie decides that they should commit suicide together that so they would never have to be alone. They attempt to commit suicide by sleighing into a tree. They are unsuccessful but both end up with permanent physical injuries. They end up all living together miserably with Zeena taking care of them.
Themes:
Key Issues:
Does Ethan have a responsibility toward Zeena?- Ethan spent most of his life taking care of Zeena until he finally decided that he wanted a change and a life with Mattie. It was an issue whether Ethan should just leave Zeena even though she was sick and needed him, or whether he should be happy with Mattie
Does Mattie love Ethan or is just using him?- Mattie's flirtatious ways led Ethan to believed that she loved him. The truth was that it was convenient for Mattie to have Ethan around. He did her chores for her while she went out and had a good time. She had nobody and would have been alone without Ethan.
Why was there a lack of communication?- Zeena acted this way because their plans were to sell the farm and move to a large town but they had no money and the land wasn't fertile. Zeena whined and he couldn't do anything about it. He stopped responding and she stopped complaining so then they had silence.
Lessons / Morals / Applications:
Go for what you want in life and don't get yourself caught up in something you can't get out of. Ethan married Zeena even though he didn't love her and got stuck in taking care of her. This isn't what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to run away with Mattie from the start but couldn't do it because of his responsibility to Zeena.
Communication is the key to a good relationship. Zeena and Ethan didn't talk so they didn't know how each other felt. If they would of had better communication, Ethan wouldn't of had the need to be with Mattie because he would of already had a companion in Zeena.
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