Perilous Passions

Hale to help him leave Zeena.
             Suddenly it occurred to him that Andrew Hale, who was a kind-hearted man, might be induced to reconsider his refusal and advance a small sum on the lumber if he were told that Zeena's ill health made it necessary to hire a servant.
             After deliberating his course of action, however, Ethan becomes honest with himself and realizes his plan would be taking advantage of the ones he loves. .
             For the first time, in the light of the words he had just heard, he saw what he was about to do. He was planning to take advantage of the Hales" sympathy to obtain money from them on false pretences.
             Ethan's honesty with himself regarding right and wrong tells him that he will spend the rest of his life as a prisoner in Starkfield. As he reads the headstones of his ancestors, he subconsciously realizes that the shackles of fate bind him to the prison of the small New England town. After reading an epitaph regarding an ancestor with the same name, Ethan Frome, he wonders if "when their turn came, the same epitaph would be written over him and Zeena." Through being honest with himself, he learns that he needs to stay and take care of his wife, Zenobia. He shows honesty by taking responsibility for the needs of those around him. Ethan sees himself living only in Starkfield, and strikes down any thought to leave Starkfield due to his lack of money. Thus, Ethan Frome's honesty keeps him prisoner in Starkfield by having Ethan tell himself that no matter what he does, it is highly unlikely he will ever find a way out Starkfield.
             Due to the fears Ethan possesses, he becomes a victim of his own choices. Ethan did not choose to marry Zenobia because of love; he took her for his wife due to his fears and his situation. Ethan possesses fears of being alone on the farm in winter, and Zeena arrives to take care of his mother.
             After the funeral when he saw her preparing to go away, he was seized with an unreasoning dread of being left alone on the farm; and before he knew what he was doing he had asked her to stay there with him.