Home > Ethan Frome Text > Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights

Ethan Frome | Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights

Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights

  1. Is the conflict in Ethan Frome between morality and irresponsible actions, ethical and unprincipled behavior, or devotion and selfishness? Consider the following situations:

    • Ethan loves and desires Mattie, his idea of perfection, yet he stays with Zeena, whom he loathes. All the while he gives the appearance of being a loving and devoted husband.

    • Ethan could make a selfish decision for his own happiness and peace of mind, but is unable to because he feels the decision would hurt Zeena.

    • Ethan believes that society's restrictions and morality impose insurmountable barriers to block his happiness.

    • Is the desire to commit suicide immoral, or is it acceptable in certain intolerable situations?

  2. Edith Wharton uses contrasts to illustrate the starkness of Ethan's world. Note the following in Ethan Frome:

    • light and dark

    • sickness and health

    • cold and warmth

    • the graveyard and the summer scene at Shadow Pond

    • despair and hope

    • pessimism and optimism

    • illness and loneliness

    • winter and spring

    • the Varnum house and the Frome house

    • illusion and reality

    • social restrictions and fervent desire

    • conscience and impulse

    • courage and cowardice

    • escape and entrapment

    • physical strength and mental weakness

  3. Symbols reflect the story's tone and Ethan's moods. They are also used in foreshadowing. Note the following symbols as they appear in the novel:

    • the cat

    • Zeena's pickle dish

    • the sled run

    • Mattie's scarlet ribbons and scarves

    • Ethan's private room

    • the actual town of Starkfield

    • the epitaph on the tombstone

    • Ethan's deformity

    • the weather

  4. Is Zeena responsible for Ethan's sadness, or does the blame rest with Ethan himself?

  5. Note how the disaster at the end causes a reversal of the characters’ situations.