Wharton’s Ethan Frome comes to a tragic ending

Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome is a very short, very quick read, but an enjoyable one. It starts in the first person, with a person coming to the small town of Starkfield on business. He notices a local named Ethan Frome, who limps around and keeps to himself, but whom no one in town wants to talk about. The majority of the story is then told in a flashback, going back 20 something years to when Ethan was a young man.

Ethan runs the local wood mill, but struggles to make ends meat. His wife Zeena is always sick, and spends a lot of money on the latest cures to heal her latest, curious ailments. Her cousin Mattie lives with them to help take care of the house. Zeena is a bit of a nag, as she thinks Ethan doesn’t do enough to help her and she belittles the work he does. Ethan, tired of her constant stinging, sees Mattie’s bubbly personality as a welcome change. The two lead a subtly flirtacious life, until Zeena gets wind of it and tells Mattie she must leave. Broken up, Ethan is driving Mattie to the train station when they finally openly admit their feelings for each other. They try to prolong their time together by sledding down a hill, and Mattie says if they cannot live apart, then they should not live, and Ethan agrees and aims his sled for a large tree.

The final epilogue goes back to present day, back to first person by the newcomer. He is visiting Ethan’s home (the limp was a result of the accident). He hears a nagging in the next room and we think it must be Zeena still, but we quickly learn that it is Mattie. She was paralyzed in the crash, and has been stuck with Ethan and Zeena all these years, growing bitter over that time. Due to his limp hurting his business, Ethan is even poorer now than he was, and Zeena has found the strength to take care of everyone.

A tragic novel (actually more of a long short story at about 100 pages). Iis easy to get swept up in Ethan’s plight in the past, and feel sorry for how his life has turned out, though obviously at his own fault. Wharton’s style is simple in its own way, yet very detailed and easy to read. A nice little book.