Ethan Frome

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Summary: Ethan Frome
Review: The narrator, who is nameless throughout the story, comes from New England. The carpenters happened to go on strike and left the narrator, a labor negotiator, jobless. He becomes stranded in a small town called Starkfield and eventually he boards with Ethan Frome. The narrator is mystified by the mysterious local townsman called Ethan Frome. Ethan Frome, the protagonist of the story, lives on an unpretentious farm in Starkfield, Massachusetts. He hastily married, his cousin Zenobia Pierce, to fill a void from the premature death of his mother. His spouse soon develops an illness that seemingly traps him in a commitment for life. Ethan's luck and efficiency runs low as the farm soon begins to deteriorate. Ethan's only refuge from his arduous life is his fantasy about his wife's cousin, Mattie Silver. Mattie Silver, the antagonist of the story, comes to assist the Frome's during Zeena's illness. Mattie comes from a poorer family, which shows as she becomes a burden to the Fromes. She had never had any formal house training or nursing skills. Mattie served as pleasure to Ethan but was a nuisance to Zeena. Zenobia Frome (Zeena) assisted Ethan while his mother was dying. After her marriage with Ethan she had become ill. Zeena is interested about treatment for her illness but in the future refuses an operation because she is skeptical about hospitals. Zeena is alienated by the undesired company of Mattie in her house. She is jealous of the time Mattie and Ethan spend together. Significant settings in the novel are the Frome house and Varnum Hill. The Frome residence serves as an important part of the novel because it houses all of the main characters. It is technically a house, but it also serves as a prison cell. It is a cell to Ethan because of his responsibility to keep the farm in good shape as it has been in his family for generations. Zeena considers the house a cell because she is isolated there with her illness in there as she watches her body and marriage slowly but painfully deteriorate. Mattie also finds the house to be a prison because it reminds her of the fact that she could never open-heartedly have Ethan. When Ethan and Mattie finally are alone, without Zeena, the house reminds them of their guilt because of Zeena's illness. At the end of the novel the cell theory proves true. Ethan, Mattie, and Zeena are locked in the house together rarely having visitors or speak of the incident that happened between them. Varnum Hill is the most significant setting in the novel. It serves as the setting where we first meet Ethan and Mattie and they reveal their attraction to each other. It will also be the last time we see any attraction between the two. It represents the beginning and the end of their relationship. Varnum Hill also represents where we encounter the romance in our story. All of the real intimate moments such as when Ned Hale and Ruth Varnum were kissing and Mattie and Ethan proclaimed their love, always happened on the hill. Varnum Hill is a romantic symbol in the book. Symbols play a big role in the Ethan Frome tale. When we initially were introduced to Mattie in the book, she was wearing a distinctive cherry red scarf. Later in the book she wears a red ribbon in her hair during dinner. The red color on Mattie shows reality to Ethan. The red scarf reminds him that he cannot be with Mattie because he is married to another. When she wears the red ribbon to dinner, he feels as if they are a married couple but the ribbon always shocks him back to reality. The cat in the story represents Zeena's venom even though she is not present. The cat oddly sat in Zeena's vacant chair during dinner and broke the pickle dish. The cat also secretly watches Ethan and Mattie's every action when they are alone. It almost seems as if the cat is Zeena's eyes. When Zeena scolded Mattie for breaking the pickle dish, it really was not over the pickle dish itself. She really was upset about her marriage and how it seems as if it broke too. The story carried an implied metaphor about a sleigh. The sleigh represents fate and how you can only steer your fate so much, but when there are bumps one cannot avoid, you end up taking them head on. Ethan has a variety of different conflicts throughout the book. Ethan battles his desire frequently. Every time he tries to ward off the desired Mattie, he constantly has to remind himself of Zeena. In the end, his desire was too strong and he proclaimed his love to Mattie by taking the plunge down the hill. Ethan and Zeena are subtle about the way they quarrel over Mattie. Instead of fighting they would take hurtful jabs at each other. Zeena wants to get rid of Mattie because she harbors evil feelings over their affair. She cleverly does not speak plainly about those feelings. She instead states that Mattie is an incompetent worker and wants a new nurse. Ethan knows Zeena's plans and tries to come to Mattie's defense by complaining that they do not have enough money to afford an another nurse. Zeena gives the final blow by explaining that if Mattie is replaced the expenses would remain the same. Ethan has no rebuttal and therefore backs down for now. The most obvious conflict is in the end when Ethan tried to hit the Elm tree head on. As they were gliding down the hill at the last second, the sled swerves slightly so that they hit the tree, but not head on, or hard enough to kill them. Ethan does a lot of fighting in this story but unfortunately he also does a lot of losing. The story of Ethan Frome is bittersweet. Mattie and Ethan ended up together but it was not what they were expecting. It strangely resembles the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. The lovers both could not be together or apart without hurting themselves or someone else. Both pairs of lovers thought that taking their lives was the only way out of their sad state of affairs. Sadly, this is where the stories differ in the fact that Mattie and Ethan did not die, they were deformed together forever. My only question to the author Wharton is why did Zeena in the end let Mattie and Ethan back in the house to live together again? I think she sees the guilt in Ethan but despite that fact still wants to care for her husband in his time of need. Even though he committed adultery when his wife was very ill, I feel pity for him by the end of the novel. My pity or sympathy comes from the fact that Ethan is a human being with faults and vulnerable human emotions. I relate to his indiscretion and do not judge him as a caring person.

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Summary: Perception of Text
Review: Ethan Frome is a well written book, with surprises everywhere. The outcome of the story is unexpected, like many of the events that take place during the course of the novel. The story is a basic love story, but with a bit of a change to the ending. The ending is to good to give away, but all that can be said is that it is unexpected. It could be happy or it could be sad, it really depends on the way you look at it. The story starts off by introducing the narrator, which really has no change on the outcome of the story line. Then it goes to a flash back of twenty years ago, and that is where the story mostly takes place. The main character, Ethan Frome, and the protagonist of the film fall in love with one of his helpers. The person who stole his heart, Mattie Silver, loves him too. But there is one problem, and that problem is that Ethan is already married to a women name Zenobia Frome, but people call her "Zeena". The two forbidden lovers are forced to be split up. "Zeena" is forcing Ethan hire a new worker in place of Mattie, due to "Zeena's" health problems. Ethan was told to take her away, and on the way they decided to stop. When they stopped they decided to sled, because they had already made previous arrangements. Going into their second run, Mattie proposes an idea, which is to run into a big tree together. By doing this they would escape their lives of heartbreak, and they would be able to die together. While Mattie is moaning, Ethan realizes he doesn't want to die. The story cuts back into present day, when the narrator is at an overnight stay, at the home of the Frome's. The narriorator is introduced to two woman. One of them is his wife, and one of them is a crippled woman named Mattie Silver. I think that this book has a very memorable ending, and is worth reading. Mat Freeman

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Summary: What I thought of Ethan Frome
Review: Title: Ethan Frome Author: Edith Warton In this book there are a few main characters Ethan Frome, Zeena, Mattie and Jotham Powell. Ethan and Mattie can be called the protagionists and Zeena and Jotham can be called the antagonists. Ethan works in a lumber yard where he cuts trees and ships them to places. Mattie is the housekeeper for Ethan and Zeena (they're married). Jotham is a co-worker with Ethan. This book is set in winter and during a time with no electricity. In this novel, Ethan is in love with Mattie and wants to leave with Zeena, but since Zeena is ill, she could not make it on her own. Ethan tries to spend dquality time with Mattie, but that is very difficult. One day when Zeena needs to go to a special doctor, Ethan asks Jotham to take her so he can spend time with Mattie, but makes up an excuse and says he needs to collect money. When Zeena leaves, Ethan works but when he gets home, he sees that Jotham is there with Mattie which makes him very mad. Zeena was a very idealistic character. She was always looking for attention and was not happy until she got it. Ethan made a big mistake when he said that he will stay with Zeena because now his life will never change. one thing strange about this book, is that there wasn't really any family relationship. Something I think would have been a big plus. I did not really like this book because it was very cold-hearted. Zeena always complained about little things which made it very annoying. There was also a lot of secret hatred in the book which the characters did not show, but you could sense it. There was some conflict with self in the book on the decisions that Ethan made. I thought his decisions were not the smart ones but I canot change that. I'm not a book critic, but to me the book wasn't what I expected it to be. I'm not stopping anyone from reading it, but I wouldn't recommend it. There wasn't really any good points in the book. At times the book could become confusing. There were some points in the book that there were hard to understand. I would give this book one star.

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Summary: Criticism of Ethan Frome
Review: The obvious protagonist of this story is Ethan Frome, although he is disguised as a middle-aged man who lived just outside a small, barren community. He is a diligent worker who receives meager pay in comparison to his labors on the family farm that he shares with his wife. Clearly, he is the protagonist because, not only is he the main character, but he was also mentioned by Edith Wharton to be the protagonist in the introduction of the story. If this had not been so, I still would have said that Ethan Frome is the protagonist because he was always so willing to help people. One example of this is when he was so insistent on having Mattie Silver, who was a poor relation of his wife, Zeena, remain their hired girl. However, Mattie was not only a hired girl to Ethan, and this presented him with many conflicts within himself. The exact moment that he realizes that he is in love with Mattie is beautiful and is in this quote, 'They stood together in the gloom of the spruces, an empty world glimmering about them wide and grey under the stars.' He felt his love for Mattie was wrong because he thought that it was his duty to love Zeena. Zeena was so overbearing and Ethan thought that it was his job to care and love her because she was his wife and she was ill. Zeena was most definitely the antagonist of this story because it seemed that all she wanted to do was sit around the house and feel sorry for herself. In this I do not think that she was also the villain because she changes her ways for the better. She often forced Ethan to make decisions he did not want to make. There was only one time that he actually put his foot down and did what he wanted for a change.

One case of conflict between Ethan and his society was Mattie and Ethan's relationship. In the harshness of their community for Ethan to find love somewhere else when his wife was ill was frowned upon. Of course, adultery, is a sin everywhere, but the type of connection Mattie and Ethan had was different. In the one night that they had alone together they did nothing but talk. In this night a red glass bowl was broken. The bowl was one of Zeena's, and one that she cherished. This is major symbolism because the shattered bowl is a symbol of Mattie and Ethan's relationship. They realize, just as there is no way that they could ever mend the bowl, there was no way they could ever find a way to be together.

A conflict with nature that arises in this book between Ethan and Starkfield. Ethan is bound to where he lives with chains, and it seems the harder he tries to free himself from them, the more engrossed he becomes. The county where he lives has been his home all of his life, and was his families home before him. He is a poor man and cannot afford to move anywhere else even though it is his dream to live in the city and become an engineer. This bleak and desolate nature of their community provides a sharp and ironic contrast to Zeena's illness. It is ironic that such a weak person could survive in such a harsh climate and condition of weather. Additionally, Zeena is an ironic character because her personality is very similar to the weather of their society. The nature of Starkfield also influences Ethans personality and tells us why he is so attracted to the young and spirited Mattie, who brings color and spice to their household. Furthermore, friendship is immensely important because without Ethan's friendship to Mattie, I do not think that he would be able to survive.

Later in the story, when the plot thickens, Ethan's wife says she is ill and wants to make Ethan hire another girl to work for them. This would mean that Mattie, foe of, would not have to work with them and would have to leave. Ethan has trouble saying no to his wife, mainly because he feels compassion for her being ill, but also because he feels guilty for loving someone else. Zeena, who is clever and omniscient of Ethan's relationship with Mattie, twists Ethans' words around until she gets what she wants from him. Ethan has the illusion that his wife is helpless and needs him to provide for her. This is yet another thing that binds Ethan to his life. In this way it is an extremely important family relationship that Ethan and Zeena share. Even though it is not a good relationship it still makes the plot. Without Zeena this would be just another story for it would be lacking the romantic tragedy of Mattie and Ethan.

Ethan, seemingly under Zeena's spell, was idealistic that one day he and Mattie could create some life together, a life that would not involve Zeena. Mattie does not appear to be quite as impractical as Ethan, and knows that if Zeena does not wish for her services, she will not have her services. Mattie sees only one option out. This is leads to the most crucial part of the story, when Zeena sends for a real hired girl and forces Mattie to move to the next town, where she would be left to fend for herself. Ethan makes an important decision here, between leaving Zeena and going with Mattie, or making Mattie stay. Instead, he and Mattie decide to make a final journey together; a sleigh ride at night on a icy, foreboding hill by the coast of Massachusetts. Their plan goes drastically wrong, and forever binds them to Zeena. In this part of the novel, human value becomes increasingly significant. This is where we realize that Zeena does in fact have a heart and does care about the well-being of other people, especially her relatives.

The narrator, who is only in the beginning and end of the novel is extremely important because she provides us with background information on the characters and what they are like. Edith Wharton, who is the narrator, starts by telling us of Ethan Frome and then embarks on a journey to find out about Ethan's past from the people of Starkfield. She goes about finding this information as if she was actually in Starkfield and was talking to one of her characters. This is what truly makes the story come to life. The narrators interest in the terrain of Massachusetts, starts with her love for nature, but her desire to make the story more personal leads her to creating the character Ethan Frome. In the introduction of the story Edith tells us of the in-depth of Ethan Frome and she obviously spent time inventing his character. At the end of this story the narrator proves to be worth even more because she finishes the tale of 'Ethan Frome' when it has been years, perhaps decades, later in the story and, finally, provides us with a resolution.

This story could definitely be considered parallel to other romantic tragedies such as West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet. The plot of this story, however, is not quite so complex. These are novels speak about forbidden love. All of these novels have showed us what the power of true love can drive people to do. When compared to Nineteen Eighty-Four, this book showed much more love and courage. In Nineteen Eighty-Four Winston was weak and was willing to do harm against Julia to spare himself. In this novel, love tragically drove Ethan and Mattie to their crippling fate, leaving Zeena, the weakest, to care for them for the remainder of their lives.

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Summary: Amazingly moving
Review: I listened to this book on tape during my long commute to work and found myself mesmerized to the point that I almost felt myself a hazzard. More than once during the books most intense parts I made myself eject the tap so that I might gather my thoughts. This book moved me, the emotions described are so raw and the feellings so beautifully described that I was deeply touched.

That said, this book is not for the week at heart. Once you have read (or listened to) this, your next book will have to be lighter. I know I just might go with a Dr. Suess book next.

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Summary: Trapped by Farm and Fate
Review: Edith Wharton's riveting novella of smoldering passion in a stark New England village retains its charm and vitality 90 years later--a sure sign of a classic. An objective narrator gradually learns the excruciating details of the wasted life of Starkfield's loneliest recluse. Ethan Frome at 54 is a physical wreck of a man--an impoverished farmer, who bears unspeakable burdens in his tortured heart. He has sacrificed everything to honor what he considers family responsibilities.

Torn between loyalty to a sour, hypochondriac of a wife, Ethan struggles hopelessly against the tide of his mounting attraction to youthful Mattie--his wife's poor relation who has come to live with them. Does the delightful girl return his love? Does cruel Zeena suspect and plot to separate them? How can a professional invalid compete with the zest and fire of her cousin? Facing a lifetime of crippling emotional loss, in a lover's despair Ethan finally rebels against the harshness of his fate by seeking to shape his own destiny. But the "smash up" results in shocking and unexpected consequences for the uneasy "menage a trois." This tortured tale of forbidden love will capture the imagination of mature readers as a grim, psychological novella about the desperate needs of the human heart.

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Summary: good book
Review: From the point of view of a High School student I thought that it was going to be very bland. I had to read it over the summer and was only looking forward to it becasue it was short. However, the book turned out to be very enjoyable. It had a nice story(somewhat sappy for 17 year old guy but still good). The book really makes sense at the end and ties the story up well. Good Book.

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Summary: Zeena the Hypochondriac
Review: I really enjoyed the novel Ethan Frome. The style that Wharton uses really gets the reader involved. The words she uses to describe the way Ethan and Mattie feel about eachother touch your heart. The way she makes Zeena seem, really makes you hate Zeena. Zeena is one of those characters that you just can't feel sorry for no matter how hard you try. Overall, the novel was very well written and really keeps you interested throughout.

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Summary: Sad and strange
Review: Edith Wharton's short masterpiece is not for everyone. It's a slow story where very little actually happens. But what does happen is written so well, with such a longing that hangs in every word and phrase, that it's hard not to be pulled in. Most of the low reviews here seem to be from high school students who didn't like being forced to read the book. Well, I think this book is really for a more mature audience than your average high schooler. I hope these kids will revisit the book when they're older.

All in all, a sad, strange journey into the heart and mind of man with no choices.

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Summary: Ethan Frome
Review: Ethan Frome is one of the best novels I have ever read. It is about an unsuccessful Massachusetts farmer named Ethan Frome, who has a smashed-up face, and is quiet and unsociable. Frome is married to Zeena, who is ill with kidney problems, and is crabby and tyrannical. The plot twists when Mattie, Zeena's cousin, moves in with the Fromes. Ethan and Mattie fall in love with each other, but keep it a secret, mainly because of the harshness of society. Ethan would have gone off with Mattie if it hadn't been for the following three reasons: (a)he is poor, (b)he feels compassion toward his sick wife, and (c)he feels he owes his wife because she cared for his parents before they died. The plot twists again when Zeena comes home from a visit with her new doctor and says she has hired a new 'maid' and Mattie would need to move out. When Ethan and Mattie head to the train station, they stop to sled at a special spot. Mattie broke down and admitted she would rather they die with him than be separated from him, so she suggests they go down the hill again and sled into a giant elm tree. They do that and end up in pain and broken at the end of the novel. Mattie at the Frome's home and Ethan at the minister's place. I recommend this novel for a reader who is interested in twisted romance and can understand the symbolism in the story.