The conflict does not stem from within Ethan's own heart - his feelings for Mattie never waver. Instead, the conflict occurs between his passions and the constraints placed on him by society, which control his conscience and impede his fulfilment of his passions.
Again and again, Wharton displays the hold of social convention over Ethan's desires. Although he has one night alone with Mattie, he cannot help but be reminded of his domestic duties as he sits in his kitchen. He plans to elope and run away to the west, but cannot bring himself to procure the necessary money.
The bulk of the novel concerns Ethan Frome's perspective and actions. Whereas the other characters in the narrative remain rather opaque, we are allowed access to all of Ethan Frome's thoughts as his life approaches a crisis point. He can thus be seen as the main character and protagonist of the story. In spite of the fact that he contemplates an adulterous affair, Ethan is a generally sympathetic character, because Wharton goes out of her way to make his wife, Zeena, an appallingly unsympathetic figure - even if we don't condone his desire for another women, we understand his motivations. Moveover, never doubt Ethan's fundamental goodness. It is revealed to the reader that Ethan only married Zeena for to reason, the first being that Ethan's mother had just died and as winter was approaching fast he did not want to be alone during the harsh Starkfield winter. The only other was that due to Ethan's longing for success he thought that Zeena would help him get this success and also want to live in a big city, but he could not have been more wrong. The author describes this by mentioning that "[an] engineering job in Florida, put in his way during his period of study at Worcester, increased his faith in his ability to do well as his eagerness to see the world; and he felt sure that, with a "smart".
Wife like Zeena, it would not be long before he had made himself a place in it.