Ethan Frome

A detailed Summary of Ethan Frome

In the book Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton the main character, Ethan is overcome with responsibilities. Some of these responsibilities are implied but Ethan's life is still affected by them. These responsibilities, implied or expressed, lead Ethan's life down the path it took. Some of the responsibilities were as simple as taking care of the farm, others complex such as marrying Zeena, and taking care of her and not leaving her in her sickness.

One of Ethan's implied responsibilities is the running of the family farm. Ethan grew up in a small farm town in Massachusetts called Starkfield. One of his goals in life was to get out of Starkfield and become something. "His father's death, and the misfortunes following it, had put a premature end to Ethan's studies." This also ended Ethan's quest to get out of Starkfield for now, since Ethan couldn't leave his mother to run the farm while h

e was in college; so he dropped out and returned home. He felt he had a responsibility to take over the family farm and mill and become the man of the house.

Ethan's third responsibility was not leaving Zeena in her time of sickness. When Zeena became sick her cousin, Mattie Silver came to take care of her and the housework. Ethan found himself falling in love with Mattie, drawn to her youthful energy, as, "The pure air, and the long summer hours in the open, gave life and elasticity to Mattie." Ethan thought about running away with Mattie to the west. Once there he could start a family with her and Zeena could sell the farm back home. "Since the farm and mill were mortgaged to the limit of their value she couldn't sell it, and even if she found a purchaser-in itself an unlikely chance-it was doubtful if she could clear a thousand dollars on the sale. It was only by incessant labo

Some common words found in the essay are:
Mattie Ethan, Edith Wharton, Starkfield Ethan, Zeena Ethan, Mattie Silver, Starkfield Ethan's, marrying zeena, family farm, ethan's life, , mother died, farm mill, responsibility family, taking care, love mattie, responsibilities implied, ethan's mother,

Approximate Word count = 601
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Ethan Frome

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