The sled ride which Ethan and Mattie take at the end of the story is full of irony. They often talk of going sledding together. In the first conversation that the two have in the novel, sledding becomes one of the first topics. Mattie relates an incident, "Ned Hale and Ruth Varnum came just as near running into the big elm at the bottom...Wouldn't it have been too awful? They're so happy" (19). Coasting on the hill is a spirited pastime for young couples in the small town. The elm offers a bit of a scare a

nd a chance for the young men to show off their skill. Ethan and Mattie simply want to enjoy this amusement. The chance for a sledding ride does not come until the night Mattie is supposed to leave. Their sorrow over Mattie's departure changes their motives concerning sledding. They see a collision with the elm as a way to avoid parting. Mattie suggests, "Right into the big elm...So 't we'd never have to leave each other any more" (71). The irony is that sledding, an innocent pastime, becomes a tool the lovers use to try to escape their situation.

When Mattie is to be sent away, Ethan and Mattie grow desperate looking for a way out of their impossible situation. They decide that it is better to die in a sledding accident together than live their lives apart. Ethan hesitates slightly, "But in a flash he remembered the alternative. She was right: this was better than parting" (72). Ultimately, they both survive the crash, though both have permanent injuries. Mattie is confined to a wheelchai

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ethan Mattie, Zeena Ethan, Ethan Frome, Ruth Varnum, Zeena's Ethan's, Edith Wharton, ethan mattie, ethan frome, KEYHOLE ESSAY, brush aside, sledding ride,
Approximate Word count = 673
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)