Ethan Frome | Literary Precedents
In her introduction to Ethan Frome, Wharton acknowledges her indebtedness to Balzac's "La Grande Breteche" and Robert Browning's The Ring and the Book (1869) for the structure of her novella. Balzac in particular uses a similar situation (a curious stranger in a provincial setting) for the frame of his story.
Some critics also find elements of Nathaniel Hawthorne's influence in this work. Elizabeth Ammons, for example, finds a kinship between Ethan Frome and Hawthorne's "Ethan Brand" and The Blithedale Romance (1852) pointing to the names of characters...
[The entire page is 114 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Tell a friend about Ethan Frome at eNotes.
