Ethan Frome (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Edith Wharton
- First Published: 1911
- Type of Work: Novella
- 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
Ethan Frome, neither a commercial nor a critical success when first published, actually offended many of Wharton's contemporaries by its harsh portrayal of New England life and its characters’ failure to triumph over adversity. Nevertheless, its popularity gradually increased until, by 1920, it had become the best-known and most widely read of Wharton's works. Wharton herself believed that too much attention was paid to Ethan Frome at the expense of her other novels. Indeed, to judge her career solely by this single novella would prove misleading, because it is very...
[The entire page is 1514 words long]
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