There is one thing that every human being in this world has in common, something that we all desire and want with all our heart. There is something out there that we will stop at nothing in order to get it, even if it means the creation of our own demise, even if it means the end of everything we sought out. What we all look for is happiness. We all work for something and at the end of the day we all just want happiness. In the case of Ethan Frome, Zeena, and Mattie, happiness seems elusive to the point of nonexistence. .
There is no happiness in the lives of Ethan, Zeena and Mattie, because they are all held back from the things that make them happy; they are all imprisoned in some way. The main themes of imprisonment in Ethan Frome are lack of money, Starkfield's location and surroundings, Ethan's inability to communicate, Ethan's love for Mattie, Ethan's marriage with Zeena, and Zeena's sickness and how it pressures Ethan. Each of these problems causes a distinct feeling of imprisonment for all the characters, and it is one which they have great trouble handling.
Money is an important factor in everyone's life. Ethan has a hard time doing things that he enjoys. He doesn't have good harvests and he does not make a lot of money, and the little money that he receives is filtered to his wife because of her illness. Ethan is pressured by this and realizes that he has a responsibility to his wife to make money for her medicine. One of the main reasons why Ethan is so unhappy is because of his wife and her illness. If the Frome's had more money, Zeena's health could improve and therefore Ethan would not be so pressured by his wife. Ethan cannot get another job, his mother fell ill a few years ago, and he has to drop his studies because they cannot afford it anymore. Ethan and Zeena cannot even move to another place where the weather would not be so harmful on Zeena. The fact that Ethan does not have enough money also rules out the chance of Ethan running away with Mattie; he would not have enough money for them to even last a few days.
