Ethan Frome Questions and Answers
Ethan Frome
Is Ethan gay?
Sexuality is also a tricky subject, in literature as well as in life, and it's not always possible -- try as people might -- to put someone else in a neat little box. Your question is good, of...
Ethan Frome
How does the description of Ethan Frome's house in the novel Ethan Frome symboliza his own condition?
It is in the prologue of Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome where we find the description of both Ethan and his place of residence. The prologue serves as a wonderful conduit to help us realize the...
Ethan Frome
Explain the irony found in the Ethan Frome. at least three examples, situations and/or details to support your topic...
This novel is filled with different types and examples of irony. The most obvious examples are found within the ending of the novel. It is great situational irony that Ethan intends to commit...
Ethan Frome
What are some examples of foreshadowing in Ethan Frome?
Ethan and Mattie's sled ride in chapter 9 foreshadows their subsequent failed suicide attempt. All seems well—on the surface, at least. Ethan and Mattie are about to share a fun sled ride down the...
Ethan Frome
Why was Ethan Frome a strong person (character)?
Ethan is strong in that he doesn't kill himself. He continues plugging on, even though he is barely alive. I guess you could also suggest that cheating on his horrible wife would show some...
Ethan Frome
What are three examples of similarities and three examples of differences between the novel and the movie Ethan Frome...
Of course there will be differences between a novel and a movie made from that novel; the question for readers is always what the director will choose to omit, add, or change. In the case of Ethan...
Ethan Frome
What is a character description of Mattie Silver in Ethan Frome? physically, mentally, emotionally
In her essay,"Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome and the Question of Meaning," Elizabeth Ammons examines the novella as an inverted fairy tale modeled after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as Wharton...
Ethan Frome
When did Ethan Frome's father die in relation to his mother's death?
Little is known of Ethan Frome's father as he is only mentioned in Chapter I and later in Chapter 4 as having died of an accident, presumably on the farm or in the sawmill, when Ethan was a...
Ethan Frome
I need a thesis statement for the following in Ethan Frome. Ethan Frome is a tragic hero because...
The eponymous character Ethan Frome is a tragic hero because he is flawed and because fate is against him. A tragic hero is described as a character with either great traits, or with promising...
Ethan Frome
In Chapter 9, why does Ethan Frome command Mattie to sit behind him?
To add to the previous post- Chapter 9 is the pivotal chapter in which Mattie and Ethan make their suicide pact when Mattie told Ethan to "take her down again" (down the slope) so that they could...
Ethan Frome
Examine the line that Mrs. Hale speaks in the last paragraph of Ethan Frome. Why are these lines significant? "I said...
This is one of the most significant lines in the whole book. Mrs. Hale is referring to the recovery of Mattie after the misguided suicide attempt by Ethan and Mattie. Ethan becomes the weak,...
Ethan Frome
What is some foreshadowing in the prologue to chapter 2 of Ethan Frome?
The beginning of Ethan Frome is full of foreshadowing, setting up for the reveal about Ethan, Mattie, and Zeena's ironic and unfortunate past. The narrator's first descriptions of Ethan indicate...
Ethan Frome
What are some rhetorical devices in Ethan Frome?
Let's first define what constitutes a "rhetorical device." The Guide to Literary Terms by eNotes has an ample index with all the information you need to best understand how authors use their...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, what are the major internal and external conflicts?
Frome is internally conflicted because he knows that he cannot just abandon Zeena and elope with Mattie. Zeena is an unpleasant person, querulous and irritable, and Ethan doesn't love her. But...
Ethan Frome
What is the significance of elm trees in Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome? I've been told she 'stole' the motif from...
In American history--specifically that of New England where Wharton's narrative is also set--the elm tree holds much significance. For, in Boston there was a large, tall elm tree which came to be...
Ethan Frome
What are some similes in chapter 1 of Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton?
Similes are easy to locate and there are several in Chapter One of "Ethan Frome". Remember that a simile is a comparison of two unlike things or situations using "like" or "as". That makes them...
Ethan Frome
What does the sled in the book Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton symbolize?
Simply put, the sled in Edith Wharton's novel Ethan Frome represents freedom in more ways than one. However, it will later become a symbol of oppression and despair. The story takes place in the...
Ethan Frome
Do you feel any sympathy for Ethan's wife Zeena?
I have a little bit of sympathy for both Zeena and Mattie. I think that in some ways both of them are just trying to find a way to survive in a world where a man needs a woman. They each find a...
Ethan Frome
How is communication an important theme in Ethan Frome?
Communication is an important theme in Ethan Frome because the story shows how little of it actually takes place in the Frome household. This continuous lack of communication only intensifies the...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome why do you suppose Ethan feels that if his mother had died in spring instead of winter he would not...
Ethan’s marriage to Zeena took place during one of Starkfield’s long, cold winters. It was also after a long period of pain and sorrow, when Ethan was growing desperate between the impending death...
Ethan Frome
In Chapter 4, what might have happened if Ethan's mother had passed in the Spring instead of the Winter?
Ethan doesn't want to face the bleakness of a New England winter by himself, so he impulsively proposes to Zeena to avoid that fate. Winter is traditionaly a season of cold isolation due to the...
Ethan Frome
What is missing from Ethan's house, and why does this strike the narrator as important in Ethan Frome?
What's chiefly lacking are any signs of comfort, any things that would "make a house a home," as the saying goes. It is a bare bones setup indicating, first, that Frome is poverty stricken, and...
Ethan Frome
How does the narrator's imagery in Ethan Frome establish the reader's first impression of Ethan?
The imagery that is used in the opening description that the narrator gives us of Ethan Frome is very notable for the way that it presents him as a man who has suffered greatly and has become...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, how did Ethan feel the morning after spending the evening with Mattie alone?
Having spent a night together with Mattie without the troubling presence of Zeena in Chapter Five, Ethan wakes up the next morning in Chapter Six with a feeling of happiness and joy. Although, as...
Ethan Frome
In chapter 2 of Ethan Frome how does Ethan reveal that he is ambivalent?
Let's first define ambivalence in itself. It is a state of doubt where the individual experiences conflicting emotions due to his or her own uncertain feelings about a situation. Main character...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, what does the behavior imply about New Englanders’ attitudes toward outsiders? In thw story's...
This question relates explicitly to the whole question of point of view and narration, which is particularly interesting in this book. Firstly, because the narrator is an outsider of Starkfield who...
Ethan Frome
in chapter 6 why does Ethan want Jotham Powell stay for dinner?
Chapter Five of this short novel is the pivotal chapter in which Mattie and Ethan share their solitary dinner together and seem to pretend what life would be like if the two of them were the...
Ethan Frome
In chapter one of Ethan Frome, how can the atypical engineer be trusted by the reader as a narrator? Edith Wharton's...
Among the traits of the typical engineer are a strong analytical and logical mind; an engineer has a mind for detail and is technically educated; he also possesses a skilled manner of...
Ethan Frome
What is the function of money in Ethan Frome?
Money is a very important element in this story, because it drives a lot of the frustrations and unhappiness of the characters. Ethan's mill never makes very much money, so he doesn't have the...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, how does Ethan and Mattie's hidden relationship demonstrate the universal truths of love and compassion?
Ethan and Mattie's love for each other is not selfish or carnal; it represents instead the deep human longing for spiritual connection with another. When Ethan and Mattie first meet, each lives in...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, explain the situational analysis in the ending scene in Ethan's kitchen at the farmhouse?
The basic situational analysis lays in the irony of the situation itself. The author brings us to the present time, when the complete story is revealed to us. At first, we found out that Ethan had...
Ethan Frome
In the Conclusion of Ethan Frome, who spoke in "the querulous drone" as the narrator entered the house?
As the narrator enters Frome's kitchen, we are told that "the querulous drone ceased". The narrator sees two women in the kitchen, but we don't know who had spoken at the beginning of the scene...
Ethan Frome
What do you think Mattie says to Ruth when she wakes up?
It's reasonable to assume Mattie's first words would have corresponded to what Ruth Hale later says about her: that it's a pity she lived, because if she had died, Ethan might have lived. Given...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome what does that author suggest with Mrs. Hale's statement that she didn't know what Zeena would have...
The statement you refer to comes at the beginning of this novel, and serves the purpose of giving us a description of the kind of man Ethan Frome is, but also indicates the kind of frustrations...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, how long had Ethan and Zeena been married when Mattie came to the farm?
Ethan and Zeena had been married for seven years when Mattie came to keep house for them. Zeena had "fallen silent" after the first year of their marriage, and during the remainder of those seven...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, why does Ethan Frome not like Denis Eady?
Ethan does not like Denis Eady as he is jealous of him. Unlike Ethan, who is shy, unhappily married, and struggles to make a living, Eady is a confident, successful young businessman, like his...
Ethan Frome
In the novel Ethan Frome, what does Mattie say when Ethan asks if she is leaving them?
There are a couple of instances where the topic of Mattie's departure is discussed in Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome. However, we first hear about it in chapter II, after Ethan picks Mattie up from...
Ethan Frome
What is the symbolism in the story Ethan Frome?
Ethan Frome is full of symbolism. The concept of death and mortality, in particular, is represented symbolically throughout this novella. The title character wishes his wife were dead. This longing...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, would you say Ethan Frome is a victim of circumstance? Yes or no, and why?
I believe that it is a combination of the two. He definitely had some odds stacked against him that determined the quality of his life as he lived it. However, everyone is given free agency, and...
Ethan Frome
What is Ethan's house like?
We get more impressions of decay and darkness from the mood of the story than from actual description when learning about the state of the home of Ethan Frome. We know already that he is poor, so...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, what are the meanings of the symbols of the town name, gravestones, shutterless windows, dead...
Consider how many of these are representative of death -- the gravestones, the broken down house, and the dead vine are obvious, plus we know from reading that the elm tree and the final sled run...
Ethan Frome
Describe Mattie's room in Chapter 9 of Ethan Frome. Why is this description important?
What is important about Mattie's room in chapter 9 is that it is a stark portrait of a space that is completely devoid of all of the items that made the room Mattie's. When Ethan enters the room...
Ethan Frome
What can the setting of Ethan Frome best be described as?
To really understand the significance of setting in any novel, you might ask yourself what the author might have intended by creating the setting that she did. Edith Wharton didn't set Ethan Frome...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome how are Zeena's health problems an advantage for her?
Zeena's health problems serve her well in several ways. The first is that she uses it as a tool to manipulate attention and pity from those around her. She gets a lot of attention from various...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, how is Mattie affected by the isolation of Starkfield and how does she deal with this?
We learn about Mattie's feelings directly and indirectly. In chapter 1, Mattie arrives for the first time in Starkfield to take care of her far cousin who is Ethan Frome's sickly wife, Zeena....
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, is Ethan and Mattie's one night alone more intimate than it would have been had they become lovers...
The connection between Ethan and Mattie as it is presented in the novel surpasses the physical. They are drawn to each other as soul mates, finding in each other their own deepest emotions. When...
Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome, what are three facts about Ethan that keep him a prisoner for life that he can't control?
In Edith Wharton's novella Ethan Frome, the first suggestion that readers have of Ethan's figurative imprisonment is in the following description of his appearance: it was the careless powerful...
Ethan Frome
What effect does Mr. Hale's statement that he is fixing up a house for Ned and Ruth have on Ethan's plans?
In Chapter IV after Zeena rather unexpectedly informs Ethan that she needs to see some new doctors in Springfield about her "shooting pains," Ethan is relieved to know that Jotham Powell will drive...
Ethan Frome
Please explain how Ethan Frome fits into the Feminist genre when the narrator and even the main character are males.
Even though the narrator of Edith Wharton'sEthan Frome,as well as the main character, are males, the novel could fall under the genre of Feminist literature due to its presentation of women as...
Ethan Frome
What is ironic about the cat breaking the pickle dish in Ethan Frome? Cat and the pickle dish
This event is ironic because both the cat and the pickle dish are symbolic of Zeena Frome, but the breaking of the dish occurs while Mattie and Ethan are having their private dinner on a night...
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