Ethan Frome

“”Ethan Frome”” by Edith Wharton is a novel set in the fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. The story, framed by a narrator’s point of view with limited first-hand knowledge, gradually reveals the life of Ethan Frome, a poor farmer struggling to make a living in the harsh New England climate. Ethan is trapped in a loveless and unhappy marriage to Zeena, a sickly and perpetually complaining woman. As Zeena’s health deteriorates, her cousin Mattie Silver comes to live with them to help manage household duties. Ethan and Mattie develop a deep and unspoken attraction to each other, which contrasts sharply with the bleakness of Ethan’s marriage and his life’s unrelenting hardships. The novel’s climax comes in the form of a tragic sledding accident intended by Ethan and Mattie as a means to escape their impossible situation. However, instead of finding freedom through death as they planned, they both end up severely injured and even more entrapped in their circumstances. The story concludes with an even more bitter situation, where Zeena, once the invalid, now cares for both Ethan and Mattie, whose injuries have rendered her even more helpless than Zeena was. Wharton uses the stark and frozen landscape of New England as a backdrop to explore themes of isolation, desire, and the crushing effects of social and personal circumstances on the individual’s life. Ethan’s story is one of profound sadness and missed opportunities, echoed by the bleak, wintry environment surrounding him. —- ISBN: 9798327917750