Ethan Frome
A detailed Summary of Ethan Frome
Everybody has tragic flaws. Some of the decisions that we make in life have an everlasting impact. Edith Wharton, author of Ethan Frome, writes about Ethan Frome, a man troubled by his own decisions. Ethan, married to Zeena Frome, has an affair with Zeena's cousin, Mattie Silver, leaving him stranded between the two. In his effort to have his clandestine affair with Mattie and cover up so Zeena would not find out, Ethan manifests qualities of fear, desperation, and impracticality.
Ethan has many fears, which tend to plunge him into senseless acts of desperation. One night, when Ethan stood outside in the cold winter of his village, he saw Mattie dancing with Dennis Eady, a local handsome man. Ethan thought about himself and "the sight made him unhappy, and his unhappiness roused his latent fears" (31). Ethan is married to Zeena and shouldn't feel jealous of Dennis Eady. After she finished dancing, Ethan approaches Mattie. Afraid of being alone, Ethan "slipped an arm through hers, as Eady had done" (40). To worsen his fear, Zeena catches Ethan shaving, a sign that Ethan is improving his countenance for someone. Zeena's thrust of forthrightness "had frightened him more than any vague insinuations about Denis Eady"

Re-introduce three "generals": His shaving instilled fear into his mind. His impracticality allows him to have an affair with Mattie. And finally, his desperation almost cost him his life
Specific: can't let Mattie go (pg. 107)
Specific: desperate for Mattie to stay (pg. 107)
Specific: falls for Mattie silver (pg. 29)
Some common words found in the essay are:
Dennis Eady, Wasn't Ethan's, Mattie Ethan, Mattie Silver, Zeena Ethan, Afraid Ethan, Conclusion Restate, Lastly Ethan, Vince Lombardi, Ethan Frome, affair mattie, mattie silver, bad specific, dennis eady, impracticality ethan, ethan frome, ethan married, mattie ethan, falls mattie silver, finally desperation, falls mattie, mind impracticality allows, impracticality allows affair, allows affair mattie, instilled fear mind,
Approximate Word count = 898
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
Category: English
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