Ethan Frome by: Edith Wharton-

A detailed Summary of Ethan Frome by: Edith Wharton-

In the novel Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton draws many parallels

between the plot of the novel and its setting. The setting of a cold

and gloomy winter makes for an inevitably cold and gloomy plot. Ethan,

Zeena, and Mattie all contribute to the gloominess of this plot by

either making it worse, or having the chance to improve their

Ethan Frome, a New England farmer, is a very complex,

sensitive, and emotional man, yet no one besides the reader is let in

on this little secret. He feels a great deal of love towards Mattie,

and a great deal of hate towards Zeena, but these feelings are unknown

to the women because he cannot express them. Like most men, Ethan is

afraid to express his feelings to anyone, and because of this problem,

he and Mattie end up crippled and in a constant state of misery, while

the one from whom they are trying to escape ends up as their

caretaker. Ethan's feelings are like the sun t

only way out, and maybe (but probably not) Zeena would have understood

realizes that Ethan loves Mattie, instead of her, she shows no

to do with her time than to make her husband's life a living hell.

Zeena is a mean, bitter, hypochondriac who has nothing better

are first married, following the death of Mrs. Frome, the house is

Zeena becomes too "ill" to maintain a healthy home, and Ethan is too

they chose to spend their lives with, maybe no one would have ended up

busy taking care of Zeena to do anything about it. When Mattie comes,

that the love present between Mattie and Ethan is not something that

shows no sensitivity towards anyone other than herself. Even when she

that Ethan never loved her, and that it was a one-sided marriage from

Mattie and Ethan wouldn't have felt that a double suicide was their

her heart remained in a constant state of bitter cold.

was shown through characters, attitudes, and circumstances. If the

Approximate Word count = 670
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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