Ethan Frome

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Arrest (v)

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to seize (a person) by legal authority or warrant; take into custody: The police arrested the burglar.

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Balm

Back 2

any aromatic or fragrant ointment.

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Colloquially (adv)

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. Informal means without formality, without strict attention to set forms, unceremonious: an informal manner of speaking; it describes the ordinary, everyday language of cultivated speakers. Informally; conversationally

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convivial

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friendly; agreeable: a convivial atmosphere.

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Countenance

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appearance, esp. the look or expression of the face: a sad countenance.

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Degenerate

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Falling below a former standard; degraded. to fall below a normal or desirable level in physical, mental, or moral qualities; deteriorate: The morale of the soldiers degenerated, and they were unable to fight.

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Disconsolately

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without consolation or solace; hopelessly unhappy; inconsolable: Loss of her pet dog made her disconsolate.

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Disdainfully

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With an air of superiority. billy's mother had a rather disdainful look on her face as she tucked him in

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Effrontery

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shameless or impudent boldness; barefaced audacity: She had the effrontery to ask for two free samples.

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Elude

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to avoid or escape by speed, cleverness, trickery, etc.; evade: to elude capture.

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Extinguish

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destroyed. to put out (a fire, light, etc.); put out the flame of (something burning or lighted): to extinguish a candle.
to put an end to or bring to an end; wipe out of existence; annihilate: to extinguish hope.

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Fatuity

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complacent stupidity; foolishness. Foolishness; naivete

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Genially

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warmly and pleasantly cheerful; cordial: a genial disposition; a genial host. pleasantly

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Implore

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to beg urgently or piteously, as for aid or mercy; beseech; entreat: They implored him to go.

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Innocuous

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harmless. not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy.
not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.

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Languid

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lacking in vigor or vitality; slack or slow: a languid manner. Listlessly; wearily

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Luxuriated

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Indulged pleasurably. to enjoy oneself without stint; revel: to luxuriate in newly acquired wealth.

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Mien

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Air bearing. air, bearing, or demeanor, as showing character, feeling, etc.: a man of noble mien.

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Obliterated

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wiped out any trace of.

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Punctually

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In a timely manner

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Reticent

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Silent; unwilling to speak

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Scintillating

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Sparkling; Brilliant

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Suffused

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Spread over; filled. to overspread with or as with a liquid, color, etc.

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Tangible

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Concrete; solid. capable of being touched; discernible by the touch; material or substantial.
real or actual, rather than imaginary or visionary: the tangible benefits of sunshine.
definite; not vague or elusive: no tangible grounds for suspicion.

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Volubility

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talkativeness. characterized by a ready and continuous flow of words; fluent; glib; talkative: a voluble spokesman for the cause.

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What is the setting of Ethan Frome?

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The late nineteenth–early twentieth century in Starkfield, Massachusetts.

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What is the major conflict of the book.

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Ethan’s main fight is with his own conscience, as he decides whether or not to reveal to Mattie his true feelings. His struggles are exacerbated by his surroundings—Zeena, the bleak Starkfield landscape, his home—which often take on an oppressive quality.

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What is one of the main themes of the book?

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Society and morality as obstacles to the fulfillment of desire; winter as a stifling force

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motifs

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motifs · Illness and disability; snow and cold

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Who is the protagonist in the book

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Ethan From

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how did the narrator meet Ethan Frome?

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He hired him as a driver for a week.

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Why did the narrator end up at the home of Ethan Frome?

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a severe snowstorm

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What did the cat do?

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breaks Zeena’s favorite pickle dish

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symbolic meaning of starkfield

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When I think of a town called Starkfield, a gloomy, barren place with nothing that can grow comes to mind. As the author continues to describe this town, it just reinforces what I had originally thought. In the beginning of the story, while describing why Ethan looked the way he did, Harmon said “guess he’s been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away”

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What is symbolic of the house cat?

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symbolic of Zeena’s presence even while she is away.

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How would you characterize Zeena

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She is a hypochondriac, constantly suffering from a variety of physical ailments. She is a cold, unhappy, domineering woman who whines and complains incessantly. After Ethan and Mattie's sledding accident, she cares for them and runs the household.

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Tell me about Mattie.

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She joins the Frome household to work as a housekeeper and aide to Zeena. She is a sensitive, cheerful, and understanding person who falls in love with Ethan. After the sledding accident with Ethan, she becomes completely handicapped and as ill-tempered as Zeena.

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the narrator

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An engineer working on a job at the power-house at Corbury Junction. He rents a room in Starkfield from Mrs. Ned Hale, and hires Ethan Frome to transport him to and from the train station. The Narrator relates the "frame story" (the prologue and epilogue).

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Harmon Gow

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A retired stagecoach driver and resident of Starkfield. He provides The Narrator with information about Ethan Frome's life.

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Andrew Hale

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Ned Hale's father. He owns a construction company in Starkfield. He gives the appearance of having money although he is usually behind on his bills. Ethan asks him for a fifty-dollar advance on a load of lumber and he refuses.

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ned Hale

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Andrew Hale's oldest son. He marries Ruth Varnum, but is dead by the time The Narrator comes to town.

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What is the importance of Bettsbridge

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its the town zeena goes to to see a new doctor giving Mattie and ethan time to me alone.

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who is denis eady

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Denis is a cheerful young man in Starkfield whom Ethan despises mainly because he is an eligible bachelor. Ethan perceives Denis as an archrival for Mattie's affection. Years later Denis becomes the town's "rich Irish grocer."

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Jotham Powell

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Jotham, Ethan's hired hand, helps take care of the farm and mill. He doesn't say much, but he knows trouble when he sees it. He slips quietly out of sight when Zeena and Ethan are about to have the argument of their lives over Mattie's future.

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Andrew Hale

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Mr. Hale buys lumber from Ethan for building houses. Unfortunately, he doesn't pay on delivery but waits three months. Ethan, therefore, lacks the money to escape with Mattie from Zeena. Mr. Hale is also the father of Ned, who marries Ruth Varnum.

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Mrs Andrew Hale

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Mrs. Hale is probably the friendliest person in Starkfield. Her kindness so startles Ethan that he abandons his plan to collect money from Mr. Hale. Ethan's conscience won't permit him to deceive the husband of someone as understanding as Mrs. Hale.

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Harmon Gow

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Starkfield's stage driver, Harmon tells the narrator a little bit about Ethan. He knows what too many winters in Starkfield can do to a man.

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function of money in the story

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Money is a very important element in this story, because it drives a lot of the frustrations and unhappiness of the characters. Ethan's mill never makes very much money, so he doesn't have the freedom to travel, go to school, hire a nurse for ailing relatives, or have many comforts. If he had money, it would offer him the luxury of leaving Zeena with some, and going off to pursue his dreams and hopes. He would not have had to go back to the mill from school to tend his parents, and he could have gone back to school after they died.

Money also brings Mattie to them--she is poor, and needs a place to stay and eat. She wouldn't need to rely on distant relatives to help if she had more money. Money also intensifies the conflict and drama. When he goes to town to get more money, he lies about having gotten it, in order to hide his affection for Mattie. Zeena believes him and takes the long trip that leads to Mattie and Ethan acting on their feelings for one another. That is the crux of the story; Ethan's lie about money created a very difficult situation for all of them.

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how is ethan responsible for his actions

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This question invites three different responses: Ethan is totally responsible; he is not at all responsible; and he is partly responsible.

To use the first approach, think of all of Ethan's decisions. As a mature person he should be held responsible for marrying Zeena, for allowing her to dominate him, for allowing himself to fall in love with Mattie, and so forth. Since Ethan had the choice to do or not to do each of these, he must take the responsibility for his actions.

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what would the story be like if told by zeena?

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Zeena suffers, too, although you're not likely to sympathize with her. Whether her illnesses are authentic or imagined, they are real enough to make her an invalid. To spend so much of one's life consulting doctors and taking medicine- all to no avail- takes its toll in suffering. In addition, no one can enjoy being trapped inside a repulsive body like Zeena's. Finally, she has a husband who would be unfaithful if he had the opportunity, and she spends two dozen years taking care of the woman who should be her enemy.

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how is money involved in the story

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11. Considering how often money is mentioned in the novel, it must be important in the life of the main character. But usually it's a lack of money that affects Ethan.

Before Ethan's father died, the old man, in his delirium, gave away much of the family wealth. Therefore, Ethan starts out with little money. And when he marries Zeena, he remains poor because Zeena spends the little he earns on doctors and patent medicines.

Mattie enters Ethan's life because her father bilked money from his wife's relatives. When he died, his debts could not be paid. Cast out of her family, Mattie came penniless to Starkfield.

It's the absence of money, too, that prevents Ethan from escaping to the West with Mattie. On his way to ask Andrew Hale to pay for a load of lumber, Ethan meets Mrs. Hale. Her kindly manner causes Ethan to change his mind.

The final blow-up between Ethan and Zeena occurs over money. Zeena has hired a new girl to replace Mattie. Because Ethan can't afford both to pay the new girl and to feed Mattie, Mattie must go.

Clearly there's plenty of evidence in the book to prove that lack of money helps to determine Ethan's lot in life. Although Ethan needs help, he's too proud to ask for it. Hale doesn't pay his debt because he doesn't know how poverty-stricken Ethan is, and Ethan won't tell.