On a poor farm near Starkfield in western Massachusetts, Ethan Frome struggles to wrest a living from the land, unassisted by his whining and hypochondriacal wife Zeena. When Zeena’s young cousin Mattie Silver is left destitute, the only place she can go is Ethan’s farm. An embittered man and an enchanting young woman meeting in such circumstances unleash predictable consequences as passions are aroused between the three protagonists, Edith Wharton’s characterisation and deft handling of reversals of fortune are so accomplished that Ethan Frome has remained enduringly popular since its first publication in 1911 and is considered her greatest tragic story.
I first read Edith Wharton a very long time ago when I may have been a bit too young to appreciate her writing. I read A House of Mirth earlier this year and loved it. So having determined to read more by Edith Wharton I downloaded Ethan Frome to my kindle after reading a review of it on another book blog.
This is a short novel – a novella in fact. Set in Massachusetts the story revolves around three main characters. A stranger arrives in town and sees the broken figure of Ethan Frome outside the post office – in the coming days he is able to learn something of Ethan’s life and the events which lead to the accident which left him maimed.
Ethan is married to Zenobia, (or Zeena) an older wife apparently sickly she focuses all her energies on her health. Into their poor home comes Mattie Silver, Zenobia’s young cousin. Ethan finds himself trapped in an unhappy unfulfilling life – he develops strong feelings for Mattie who in turn seems to share his feelings. In Mattie Ethan sees the possibilities of a happy life – he imagines how this could be achieved.
Right from the start the reader just knows this story will not be a happy ever after. The tension in the story is perfect as it builds slowly, and the characters beautifully crafted and observed. It is quite wonderful how Edith Wharton has managed to create a sense of past and present for these tragic characters. The ending therefore is horribly inevitable. Set against a backdrop of a Massachusetts winter, the bleak surroundings of the Frome small holding and the bitter dynamics of the three people who live there make for an enormously readable story. The beautiful cold stark imagery that Wharton managed to portray in her writing, will I imagine stay with me for a long time.
What a well written review. Ethan Fromme is one of my favorite books. I read it when I was young and I didn’t see that ending coming but it was perfect. I have too much to read now however next year I’m going to try to reread it..
Thank you : ) I know all about having too much waiting to be read.
I loved this book and just finished its companion ‘Summer’ which I also recommend. These are the first books of Wharton I have read, I enjoyed ‘Summer’ all the more for not knowing how she lives out the rest of her life, we could take a traditional view or use our own imgination, whereas in ‘Ethan frome’ the ending comes as a surprise, one few could have imagined. ‘Summer’ leaves me wanting to ask Wharton what she had in mind for her protagonist.
Thanks : ) I will be looking out for or maybe downloading “Summer” soon. I want to read a lot more of her work.