Ethan Frome (Identities and Issues in Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Edith Wharton
- First Published: 1911
- 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
The Work
Ethan Frome depicts a nightmarish world, completely empty of the warmth and joy to be found in loving human interaction. Set in the cold and harsh landscapes of Starkfield, Massachusetts, the story is told by a narrator who attempts to discover what tragedy caused the enigmatic Ethan Frome’s literal and spiritual crippling. Piecing together information, the narrator learns that years earlier Ethan married Zenobia Pierce, a distant cousin who nursed his mother during her final illness. Shortly after the wedding, Ethan realized that his was a marriage without...
[The entire page is 1044 words long]
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