| Ethan Frome is a reserved New England farmer where the chill of the locale is equal to the chill of his sickly wife, Zeena, who he married in a moment of rash loneliness after his mother died. The nagging Zeena arranges for her cousin, the young and lovely Mattie Silver to help with housework, and Ethan finds himself falling in love with Mattie. Ethan and Mattie are able to enjoy a private evening of dinner and conversation while Zeena is away for health reasons, but Zeena's prized pickle dish is broken by the cat that evening. Giving the suspicious Zeena enough "reason," she demands that Mattie leave, despite Ethan's protests. In dismay, Ethan drives Mattie to the train station, when the two sorrowful lovers create a plan to go sledding down the giant hill and crash into a tree in a double suicide. At the last moment, Ethan swerves slightly from the tree, and rather than dying, both Ethan and Mattie are crippled and left to the care of Zeena. | ||
|
Plot & Themes Tone of book? - depressed Time/era of story - 1900-1920's Romance/Romance Problems Yes Kind of romance: Family, struggle with Yes Struggle with: - Wife Family, caring for ill Yes Who is sick? - wife because he/she is - physically ill Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Married, fooling around? Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 () United States Yes The US: - Northeast Farm/Ranch? Yes Farm/Ranch: - farm Small town? Yes Small town people: - hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids Writing Style Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
||