Part 1 of Essay
' Through her portrayal of Ethan and Mattie's relationship, Wharton deplores a society where societal expectations deny people their chance of happiness.' " Her hat slipped back and he was stroking her hair. He wanted to get the feeling of it into his hand, so it would sleep there like a seed in winter. Once he found her m ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... openly implores us to admire Ethan's endurance of his unfortunate life, as she paints a compassionate picture of him with a "look in his face that neither poverty nor physical suffering could have put there". We are led to feel pity for the man who, as a last resort, married Zeena, in an "unsuccessful attempt to escape the silence, isolation, and loneliness" of living a life where social acceptance was had at the cost of his own happiness. From the outset, Wharton creates warmth of feeling between readers a ....