Ethan Frome
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Ethan Frome is a 1911 novel by Edith Wharton. It is set in turn-of-the-century New England, in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts.
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Plot
The novel explores the theme of infidelity through the character of Ethan Frome, who wishes to feel vibrant and young again. Ethan's wife, Zenobia (nicknamed Zeena), is a hypochondriac and has led herself to believe that she is going to die. Her relatives send for her cousin, Mattie Silver, who needs work as she has been left penniless and an orphan. Ethan embarks on a chivalrous affair with Mattie, which causes him to consider leaving his wife numerous times although he lacks the confidence to carry out his plans. When Mattie displeases Zeena, she sends her back to the city. Emotion overcomes Ethan, and he tells Mattie that he wants to live with her forever. They decide to sled into a bulky tree, so it will kill them instantly rather than live the rest of their lives separated. The accident fails to kill them, but paralyzes Mattie and leaves Ethan with many ailments.
Presentation
The story is presented from the viewpoint of a visitor to the town who hears of the entire story not from Ethan, but from other villagers, like the visitor's landlady, Mrs. Ruth Varnum Hale and the trolley operator, Harmon Gow. The novel's power lies in the subtle uses of vibrancy (such as the red glass pickle dish) against the stark, cold background of a Massachusetts winter.
Moral
The novel has been criticized by some critics, such as Lionel Trilling, as lacking in moral or ethical significance. However, the novel was somewhat autobiographical, with Ethan analogous to Wharton, Zeena to her husband, and Mattie to her lover at the time, and it was most likely not written as a moralistic piece. Wharton's doctor had suggested that she write to get out some of her tension, and Ethan Frome is a prime example of her doing that, and nothing else.
Popular culture
Ethan Frome is mentioned in the song "Won't you come home, Disraeli" by Allan Sherman. In this comedy cover of the Dixieland jazz song "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey", Sherman jokes that Queen Victoria was reading Ethan Frome whilst waiting for the then First Lord of the Treasury, Benjamin Disraeli, to return from official business. This would of course have been impossible, due to her dying a decade before the book was published and Disraeli himself dying some two decades before Her Majesty.
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