Other editions of book Ethan Frome: By Edith Wharton - Illustrated

Life is always hard for the poor, in any place and at any time. Ethan Frome is a farmer in Massachusetts. He works long hours every day, but his farm makes very little money. His wife, Zeena, is a thin, grey woman, always complaining, and only interested in her own ill health. Then Mattie Silver, a young cousin, comes to live with the Fromes, to help Zeena and do the housework. Her bright smile and laughing voice bring light and hope into the Fromes' house - and into Ethan's lonely life. But poverty is a prison from which few people escape . . .

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Ethan Frome is considered one of the most powerful writings of the Pulitzer Prize awarded author Edith Warthon and is a story of a love triangle that has tragic consequences for all the people involved in it.The narrator, a man whose name is never revealed, arrives in Starkfield, a fictional town from New England, to stay there for the winter. He needs a driver who knows the surroundings very well, so he decides to hire Ethan Frome, the protagonist of the book, who is considered a sort of local celebrity.The main source of his "reputation" is the unfortunate accident he had suffered 24 years before, leaving him limp and with his spine crippled. In spite of these serious injuries, Frome has a powerful, imposing look, making the narrator curious to know more about his past and the dramatic incidents that made him "a ruin of a man".A snow storm leaves the protagonist no option than to offer the narrator shelter for the night, a good opportunity for the latter and the reader to find out more about the mystery surrounding Ethan Frome's past.The events had been triggered by the decision of his sickly wife, Zenobia, also known as Zeena, to bring in her cousin Mattie as a household help, because Zeena's delicate health made it difficult for her to cope with all the work.Although she is not so skilled a housemaid, Mattie is very enthusiastic and eager to please her elder cousin. Besides, her vivacious nature makes Ethan rediscover the joy of living, as he gradually falls in love with her.In spite of Mattie's efforts, Zeena is deeply dissatisfied with her and, after an apparently minor incident, she decides to send Mattie back, forcing Ethan to do something that dramatically changes the course of their life.

Burdened by poverty and spiritually dulled by a loveless marriage to Zeena, his older and ailing wife, Ethan Frome is emotionally stirred by the arrival of their youthful cousin, Mattie Silver, who becomes employed as household help. Mattie's presence not only brightens a gloomy house but also stirs long-dormant feelings in Ethan. However, their growing love for each other is discovered by the embittered Zeena, and it presages an ending to the tale that is both shocking and savagely ironic.

Ethan Frome by E. Wharton. Worldwide literature classic, among top 100 literary novels of all time. A must read for everybody.In the 1980s, < L >Italo Calvino< /L > (the most-translated contemporary Italian writer at the time of his death) said in his essay "Why Read the Classics?" that "a classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say", without any doubt this book can be considered a Classic This book is also a Bestseller because as Steinberg defined: "a bestseller as a book for which demand, within a short time of that book's initial publication, vastly exceeds what is then considered to be big sales".

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story. If you know Starkfield, Massachusetts, you know the post-office. If you know the post-office you must have seen Ethan Frome drive up to it, drop the reins on his hollow-backed bay and drag himself across the brick pavement to the white colonnade: and you must have asked who he was.