The comparisons will be like following: a. Zeena and Amanda are two women who overbear or overprotect their men, ethan and tom respectively. These two women make their lives unsuccessful and try to "kill" their dreams b. Both Ethan and Tom are alike in the sense that both feel trapped and they want to flee from their bad situations regarding women: Ethan with his wife Zeena and Tom with his mom and sister c. Both works have the same subject: A man who is controlled by a woman and he desires to flee from it with a posible person or situation that can help them get free. So the subject may be how people quit their dreams quickly for someone who is not going to make them happy.
It seems, (Though it has been awhile since I have had read this story) that she is more open to the oddness of the place. Instead of trying to rationalize this she is only going along with it.