Edith Wharton wrote Ethan Frome in 1911. Wharton was an American author who wrote in the early 20th century. Her most popular work was Ethan Frome. She was brought up in a wealthy family and had the perspective of an upper class person. Many of her stories show the contrasts of traditional values and the degeneration of these values from generation to generation. Edith Wharton was a very talented author and had an excellent perspective on life.

Ethan Frome is from Starkfield, Massachusetts, a small New England village. In the beginning, Ethan meets up with a man whose work has brought him to Starkfield. This man had previously seen Ethan and thought a lot of him. "Even then he was the most striking character in Starkfield, though he was but the ruin of a man"(Wharton 1). The people in the village see Ethan as awkward or strange but they also are somewhat amazed by him. There is a certain quality about him that interests people. He is a v

Although Zeena claimed to be ill, in reality she was just making herself ill. " Zeena had always been what Starkfield called 'sickly,' and Frome had to admit that, if she were as ailing as she believed, she needed the help of a stronger arm than the one which lay so lightly in his during the night walks to the farm" (Wharton 35). The arm he was referring to was Mattie Silver's. Mattie came to take care of Zeena. Zeena was constantly complaining and never satisfied with anything. She did nothing for herself or anyone else. I believe if Zeena was as ill as she claimed she would have hired someone with more experience than Mattie.

ery quiet man and very seldom comes out in public. As Ethan and this man are talking, they realize a bad winter storm is approaching. Ethan offers the man a place to stay, which was very unusual, because no one had been to the Frome's house in over 20 years. Once the guy gets to the house, the true story of Ethan Frome begins to unfold.

Ethan Frome's story was told in a very interesting way. Many good points came out while I was reading it. The three main things I noticed were irony, her portrayal of certain characters, and the attitude of man versus himself. The intriguing plot and the suspense of the book made it interesting and easy to read. It was a great story and I learned a lot from it.

Ethan was very upset when Zeena requested her cousin leave. Mattie became very distraught at the thought of her having to leave. She and Ethan cared a great deal for each other and when it was time for her to go, Ethan insisted on taking her to the train station. This was one of the only times he ever went against his wife's wishes.

In the story, Zeena was the most interesting character. She first came to the Frome family to take care of Ethan's mother. She was only 35 but looked much older. She was caring and had great knowledge of medicine when she first came. After the death of Ethan's mother, Zeena became ill. I think she turned to illness as a way to stay in contact with the community and the outside world. The Frome's had always been quiet and stayed out of the public and Zeena used her sickness as a way to be seen in the public.

All of this leads up to the conclusion. Ethan and Mattie were both injured in the crash but neither of them was killed. This is why Ethan was described the way he was in the beginning. The crash changed his looks and Mattie was paralyzed. She is living with the Frome family, and Zeena is taking care of both Ethan and Mattie in the end of the book. She had overcome her sickness and now becomes the caretaker. Ethan and Mattie are no longer in love and he is still married to Zeena.

Man versus himself and his conscience was greatly seen in this story. Irony was seen through this. Ethan constantly fought with himself and his true feelings. He usually did what man wanted hi

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ethan Mattie, Ethan Frome, Media Res, Mattie Ethan, Massachusetts England, Zeena Ethan, Shadow Pond, Edith Wharton, Jotham Powell, Frome's Ethan, ethan mattie, ethan frome, taking care, zeena sick, edith wharton, ethan's mother, mattie ethan, love mattie, mother died zeena, mother died, people stated, story ethan frome, try commit suicide, care ethan's mother, zeena taking care,
Approximate Word count = 1940
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)