Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton, published in 1911, tells the story of a man named Ethan Frome, who works on his family’s farm (which was passed on to him) in a village called Starkfield, New England. One day, when his wife’s cousin, Mattie, arrives to help around the house, given his wife’s poor health (Zeena), the dynamics in the household slowly begin to change.
Ethan becomes smitten by Mattie, who is full of life and enthusiasm, whereas Zeena, who at one point took care of his ailing mother (before they became married), is now ailing herself. The story is told in hindsight, some twenty years later, through the eyes of a visitor who visits Starkfield. The story slowly unfolds through quiet moments, for example, when Ethan and Mattie are walking through snowy roads, when they are having dinner, when they are riding on the wagon, or when he is working on the farm with the help of a worker named Jotham.
After Zeena returns home one day after seeing a doctor about her health, she reveals that she has hired someone new to take care of things around the house. But on this note, her cousin, Mattie, must leave before the new person arrives. This comes as a shock to both Ethan and Mattie, and he feels embittered by it. As a result, he begins to draw up plans to leave (i.e. finding a place to go, what to do with the farm, etc.), but given the impoverishment of his circumstance, he begins to question if this is even possible.
In the final act, while Ethan is still figuring out what to do, we, the reader, are left wondering what his decision will be. And this makes the ending all the more gripping as he becomes more certain of his decision. Will the outcome be hopeful or tragic, I will not reveal. Ultimately, Ethan Frome is a story that uncovers the depths of the heart, and how, in a tragic sense, the circumstances of reality can often shake its dreams.
Fallton Havenstonne 