Ethan Frome, a novella written by Edith
Wharton, was first published in 1911. The title character of the story is a young
farmer and lumber mill owner who lives in an isolated part of Vermont. As
Frome’s story unfolds, the reader learns that the story’s protagonist is barely
keeping his head above water. He is also stuck in a loveless marriage. His wife,
Zeena, is cold, self - centered, and is a hypochondriac who uses her illness to
manipulate others. Zeena’s cousin
Mattie, orphaned and destitute, has come to live with the Fromes. Though their
relationship is unconsummated, Mattie and Ethan have fallen in love. When Zeena
decides to send Mattie away, the pair are plunged into deep despair.
This is a curious story. As it takes
place during a northern New England winter, it is filled with descriptions of a
snowy and cold environment. It is also a dark tale. Ethan is normally unhappy, and the events of
the story drive him into desperation and gloom. The ending is odd and contains
some surprising developments.
This book is filled with pathos. The
passages during which Mattie and Ethan develop their attraction as well as
those where they believe that they are going to be parted are tenderly and
masterfully written.
At one point Ethan thinks about kissing
Mattie,
"He knew that most young men made nothing at
all of giving a pretty girl a kiss, and he remembered that the night before,
when he had put his arm about Mattie, she had not resisted. But that had been
out-of-doors, under the open irresponsible night. Now, in the warm lamplit
room, with all its ancient implications of conformity and order, she seemed
infinitely farther away from him and more unapproachable."
Though
short, this novella is full of ideas and contains a fascinating plot and
characters. Much can be written about it.
There is something that this tale has in common with other Wharton books that I
have read, such as House of Mirth and
The Age of Innocence, in that it is a
brilliant examination of a person who is trapped due to social and economic bounds.
Ethan is in a miserable position, and he has come to despise Zeena. The story
recounts how he made a terrible mistake when he proposed to her. He did so mostly
to avoid loneliness. His dream of becoming an engineer has disappeared. He has
fallen in love with Mattie, who is not only going to be torn from him, but who
is going to be sent into a dire situation.
As he
considers every option open to him, he realizes that there is apparently no way
out. Zeena has him boxed in at home. He contemplates running away with Mattie,
but he is stymied by multiple financial as well as ethical constraints. At one
point he thinks,
"The inexorable facts closed in on him like
prison-warders handcuffing a convict. There was no way out—none. He was a
prisoner for life, and now his one ray of light was to be extinguished."
The
above quotation perfectly describes the situation that Ethan is in, it
perfectly describes the plot of this book, and it perfectly illustrates what
how skilled a writer Wharton is. The metaphors of the prison warden as well as
the finality of Ethan’s situation are the expressions of a great writer.
There
is so much to this short book that I have not touched on. Many words have been written about its
characters and story. Wharton had a knack for describing people caught in bad
situations as well as the negative emotions that go along with them. Anyone who
likes Wharton or stories about relationships is likely to get a lot out of this
book.
