Strength of character is a predominant theme in Edith Wharton's novel
             Ethan Frome and Charlotte Bronte's novel, Jane Eyre. While both
             protagonists experience hardships and difficulties, they deal with them in
             very different ways. Ethan Frome is paralyzed by his depressing
             circumstances and never recovers from his personal tragedy. On the other
             hand, Jane Eyre gains strength from her negative experiences and ultimately
             emerges triumphant and happy. This paper will examine the character of
             Ethan and Jane and how they cope with difficult situations.
             Ethan was an inward, sensitive person. We are told that he "had always
             been more sensitive than the people about him to the appeal of natural
             beauty" (33). "He did not even know whether any one else in the world felt
             as he did, or whether he was the sole victim of this mournful privilege"
             (33-4). This description allows us to see that Ethan was a caring person
             and also felt obligated to take care of his ailing wife, regardless of his
             When Zeena tells Ethan that she never agreed to take Mattie on for life,
             Ethan begins to see Zeena's true nature. Zeena's harshness cause us to
             feel sympathy for Ethan, especially after Zeena tells him, that Mattie is,
             "A pauper that's hung onto us all after her father'd done his best to ruin
             us. I've kept her here a whole year; it's somebody else's turn now" (115).
             Ethan pleads on behalf of Mattie, telling Zeena that she cannot put her out
             of the house "like a thief--poor girl without friends or money. She's done
             her best for you and she's got no place to go to . . . If you do a thing
             like that what do you suppose folks'll say of you'" (116). We are told her
             like a knife-cut across the sinews and he felt suddenly weak and
             powerless . . . Now she had mastered him and he abhorred her . . .
             All the long misery of his baffled past, of his youth of failure,
             hardship and...