Narrator: The narrator of the story is a simple man who tries to take on an almost futile task. This is an almost futile task because the townspeople such as Ned Hale and Ruth Varnum do not like to talk about Frome. The townspeople do not avoid the subject of Frome due to disapproval, but rather a sense of such extreme sadness that it is difficult to speak about. This task is to find out about Ethan Frome's past. More specifically the narrator wants to discover what events led up to Frome's tragic present condition. "All the dwellers in Starkfield, as in more notable communities, had troubles enough of their own to make them comparatively indifferent to those of their neighbors; and though all conceded that Ethan Frome's had been beyond the common measure, no one gave me an explanation of the look in his face which, as I persisted in thinking, neither poverty nor physical suffering could have put there." Early in the book the narrator concludes from looking at his face that Ethan's tragedy was more complex than a simple accident. The narrator knows that Ethan is miserable on an emotional level. This fascinates the narrator and drives him to research Frome. One of the townspeople nam

Ethan Frome: Ethan Frome is a tragic hero who alike all tragic heroes has a tragic flaw. His flaw is strictly a psychological problem, which prevents him from doing things that he feels out of instinct. Ethan has the insane notion that he is "trapped". Even when he has a loving wife and works a job that provides for the both of them. Ethan left school to take care of sick parents. He hired a hypochondriac named Zeena to help take care of his parents who eventually die. At this point in the story Ethan is very sad. Out of loneliness he marries Zeena. Ethan was not against marrying Zeena but his flaw hinders him from preventing it. Then when Zeena's niece, Mattie comes to live with the Fromes to take care of Zeena Ethan makes a mistake. He falls in love with Mattie. Ethan feels this is his only chance at true happiness and does not want lose it by any means. Thus makes the mistake of pursuing this love. "Denis Eady! If that's all, I guess there's no such hurry to look round for a girl." One of the first signs that Ethan loves Mattie is his jealousy of Denis Eady, a rich Irish grocer in Starkfield who wants to marry Mattie. Ethan begins to ignore Zeena and then compare all her faults as opposed to all of Mattie's qualities he likes. Ethan also begins to ignore Zeena and then compare all her faults as opposed to all of Mattie's qualities he likes. "She had taken everything else from him; and now she meant to take the one thing that made up for all the others. For a moment such a flame of hate rose in him that it ran down his arm and clenched his fist against her. He took

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1063
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)