For a society and government to be successful, true emotions and feelings must be expressed at essential moments. Manipulation is constantly used around the world in areas such as movie advertisements. They act as unfair persuaders to make a certain decision or feel a certain way. However, without manipulation, being able to get certain serious points across would therefore be impossible. In Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton emphasizes manipulation, through the main characters, as a key form of communication necessary to express true emotions and desires. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Ethan Frome, the protagonist, has difficulty conveying his emotions on most topics, especially Mattie. In order to find out what Mattie is thinking, he approaches the situation with cunning and somewhat sinister intentions. After returning from the night's dancing, he says, "You would have found me right away if you hadn't gone back to have that last reel with Denis,' he said awkwardly" (Wharton 23). Ethan attempts to uncover Mattie's true emotions by appealing to her feelings about him. Although he is in love with her, he plays the role as innocent as possible, acting indifferent to the situation, in an attempt to bring out his inner feelings towards her. Wharton points out that without the ability to manipulate emotions, people would be much more secretive due to their inability to express their inner desires to others. Although generally level-headed, Ethan is also a victim of manipulation. However, this is the result of his own actions and pessimistic thoughts. As he walked through the cemetery, “we never escaped – how should you?” seemed to be written on every headstone” (Wharton 10). Ethan is so caught up in Starkfield's negativity that he convinces himself that these tombstones doom him to stay with them until the day he dies. Ethan's true feelings and how little he believes in his ability to escape this environment. Additionally, Wharton conveys to readers the harsh reality of self-manipulation and how latent emotions can emerge and greatly influence perspectives and perceptions in various manifestations. The main manipulator comes from Ethan's wife. Although Ethan is an expert manipulator, Zeena is the epitome of manipulation. She constantly lives her life manipulating people to get the reactions and outcomes that benefit her the most. "The doctor says it will be the death of me if I continue to work as I have to. He doesn't understand how I have put up with it for so long." (Wharton 75) Zeena constantly tries to use her health as a tool to shape Ethan's actions. Even though she does minimal work, she talks like she's shouldering most of the workload when in fact Ethan is doing all the work. Wharton shows how one can easily be made to feel guilty by stating a fact, even if the logic behind it is not entirely true. Zeena also uses her manipulation to convey her opinions indirectly but effectively. Although she is generally quiet, Zeena is very observant of her surroundings and things that happen. As Ethan was getting ready, she said, “I guess you're always late, now you shave every morning” (Wharton 26). In order to convey the necessary emotions to Ethan, Zeena manipulates him by hinting that even though he is late, he still has time to shave. Wharton uses this..