Ethan Frome, from the book "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton, had many responsibilities and two main dreams. He had responsibilities to his Mill, Zeena and Mattie. He wanted to leave Starkfield, and he wanted to leave Zeena for her niece, Mattie Silver. However, his responsibilities got in the way of his dreams, even in the end. He was destined to live and die in his hometown with his wife.

Ethan wanted to be an engineer and live outside of Starkfield in a large town. Zeena wanted to remain in Starkfield because in a large town not everyone would have known her and she had to be in other's business. He felt he had a responsibility to make her happy, since she was his wife. Nevertheless, they were both miserable. The only thing that made Zeena happy was to keep Ethan from happiness.

Ethan thought about leaving with Mattie when Zeena sent her back to Stamford. He thought about hiding his valise under the seat of the sleigh and he began to write a letter to Zeena, telling her he was going to try his luck west and she was to try to sell the farm. He did not finish the letter because he realized he did not have any money for Mattie or himself, and the farm and mill were mortgaged to the limit of their value. It was unlikely Zeena would find someone to buy the mill and she would not be able to keep the farm going. She was too sick to do it on her own. Ethan had a responsibility to care for Zeena before ran off anywhere, and money was scarce at the time.

Ethan wanted to kill himself on the sled with Mattie, however, when it failed he thought about his responsibilities. He could have let Mattie sit in the front, or tried to commit suicide again, but he still had Zeena and his farm to think about. When he awoke in the snow at the bottom of the hill, he said, "I ought to be getting him some feed…." He had a responsibility to his horse as well as Mattie. Perhaps if he had let her sit in the front of the sled, she might have died, but he wanted to protect her.

Ethan was a victim of fate; his dreams would never surpass his responsibilities. Every time he passed the graves of his ancestors, he was reminded that he would someday join them. If only he had sold the farm after his mother had died, he could have been free to go out and search for true love.