Why does the activation enthalpy of ester hydrolysis increase with an increase in alcohol-chain length?

(Particularly concerning acid hydrolysis) Is there some sort of chemical reason as to why with increasing alcohol-chain length, there is also an increase in the minimum energy needed to cause the ester bond to break?


Does the molecule as a whole become more stable because of the large -R group of the alcohol section of the molecule, for example?


(I am thinking of esters like methyl and ethyl ethanoate).


