Ethan Frome (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Edith Newbold Jones
- First Published: 1911
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Domestic realism, Frame story
- Subjects: Love or romance, Suicide, Nineteenth century, Marriage, Villages, New England, Poverty or poor people, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Farms, farmers, or farming, Adultery, Accidents, Sick persons, Fate or fatalism, Happiness, Sleds or sledding
- Locales: New England, Starkfield, MA
This claustrophobic novel centers on the triangle formed by Ethan, Zeena, his dour, hypochondriacal wife, whom he married to satisfy a sense of indebtedness to her for caring for his dying mother, and Mattie Silver, Zeena’s poor but vivacious and younger cousin. Ethan and Mattie fall in love and plan to flee the bleak, New England world only to be stopped by Ethan’s sense of obligation to his wife. In the end the couple attempt a double suicide which fails and leaves Ethan crippled and Mattie a hopeless invalid, ironically leaving Zeena to care for them both at the conclusion of the...
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See Also:
- - For teachers, the Ethan Frome Lesson Plan.
- - Read the Ethan Frome text online.
- - Ethan Frome summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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