Why is the narrator in Starkfield?
Due to a carpenters’ strike, an engineer (the narrator) spends the winter in the small Massachusetts town of Starkfield, where he comes to learn the tale of Ethan Frome through various sources.
Is Zeena actually sick?
Zeena is constantly going to different towns in search of more remedies. She is not actually sick, but every time she goes she discovers new symptoms. She hears of other peoples problems and begins to accept them as her own. Furthermore, she makes Ethan financially stressed through her purchases.
Does Ethan Frome kiss Mattie?
Yes, Ethan kisses Mattie near the end of the novel. He is supposed to be transporting her to the train station, but he takes a side route so they can…
What did Ethan Frome want to be?
During his unexpected stay with Ethan, The Narrator is able to glean information about Ethan’s life. As a young man, Ethan Frome wanted to become an engineer. He left home, attended a technological college in Worcester, Massachusetts, and spent time in Florida actually working on a small engineering job.
How old is Zeena in Ethan Frome?
35 years old
What is wrong with Zeena in Ethan Frome?
She has false teeth and her hair is kept in place with crimping pins. She is asthmatic and “sickly.” She speaks in a plaintive, whiny drawl. Zeena is seven years older than Ethan.
Why does Ethan hide from Mattie?
Instead of going into the church, Ethan hides in the shadows near a window and watches Mattie dance with Denis Eady. His jealousy prompts Ethan to recall some of the qualities that make Mattie precious to him. Because Ethan is insecure, he intimates that Mattie will be leaving the Fromes’ house to marry Eady.
Is the narrator in Ethan Frome a man or a woman?
The narrator is an engineer who has come to Starkfield to work at a nearby power plant. He’s an educated, upper-middle-class man who happens to become fascinated by the figure of Ethan Frome, 24 years after the tragic sled ride. Luckily for us, the narrator is a kind of a nosey guy.
Who broke the red pickle dish?
The broken pickle dish that Zeena discovers at the top of the china closet symbolizes the shattered Frome marriage. Mattie is partially responsible for the breaking of both the pickle dish and the marriage, having handled them carelessly, and Ethan cowardly hides the broken state of each.
What does Ethan like about Mattie?
When he is around Mattie, Ethan feels a sense of mastery. For example, he feels protective of Mattie; he feels authoritative, important, and needed.
How does the narrator know Ethan Frome?
The narrator finally meets Frome because he was in need of transport because the horses in the stable were sick, and Frome was the one who offered to give him a ride. the narrator learns that Frome likes books and knows how to read a little, also that Frome is mad at himself for his own ignorance.
Who is the antagonist in Ethan Frome?
Zeena Frome
Why does Ethan want to avoid going to bed until Zeena and Mattie have gone upstairs?
why does Ethan want to avoid going to bed until Zeena and Mattie have gone upstairs? -because he doesn’t want Mattie to see them going to bed together. he claims he has work to do.
Are Ethan and Zeena cousins?
Zeena and Ethan are cousins. Zeena had agreed to move away from Starkfield with Ethan.
Why does Ethan marry Zeena?
Ethan married Zeena because he was afraid of silence, just as his mother was. The Fromes appear to suffer from a fear of loneliness, which causes them to make poor decisions. Wharton implies that Zeena got “ill” because she couldn’t bear moving to a larger town where Ethan would be out of her control.
What does Mattie Silver look like?
The narrator describes her, Her hair was as gray as her companion’s, her face as bloodless and shriveled, but amber-tinted, with swarthy shadows sharpening the nose and hollowing her temples.
What is the main theme of Ethan Frome?
Major themes in Ethan Frome include silence, isolation, illusion, and the consequences that are the result of living according to the rules of society. Wharton relies on personal experiences to relate her thematic messages.
What is Ethan Frome’s tragic flaw?
His concern for others (or maybe his unwillingness to make decisions which might hurt others) proves to be Ethan’s tragic flaw (figuratively speaking). He dreams of schools and society and all the things his hungry mind and heart desire.
Why does Ethan Frome like Mattie Silver?
Mattie Silver Attractive, young, and energetic, Mattie becomes the object of Ethan’s affection, and reciprocates his infatuation. Because the reader sees Mattie only through Ethan’s own lovesick eyes, Mattie never truly emerges as a well-rounded character.
Why does Ethan regret lying to Zeena?
what lie does Ethan tell Zeena, why does he tell it, and why does he regret it? He told her he would be getting money from Andrew Hale so he wouldn’t have to take her to the Flats, and he regretted because she would spend more money on medication.
Does Mattie die in Ethan Frome?
Instead of finding escape in suicide, he and Mattie have ended up in a state of living death, in which all Mattie’s vitality has been leeched away, and she has transformed into a carbon copy of her former opposite, Zeena.
How old is Ethan Frome?
Ethan Frome is 52 years old when the narrator first meets him in the novel. Ethan’s accident had occurred 24 years prior, when he was 28 years old….
How does Zeena discover the broken pickle dish?
Zeena sits down at the table, eats, and converses about physical problems among her friends and relatives. After eating, Zeena complains that the meal has given her indigestion. She goes to get her heartburn medicine and discovers the broken red pickle dish.
How does Ethan explain the broken pickle dish to Zeena?
Similarly, how does Ethan explain the broken pickle dish to Zeena? When Zeena returns, she is furious and carrying the broken pickle-dish. Ethan tells her the cat knocked it over, to which Zeena replies that a cat couldn’t set the pieces neatly back on the shelf.
Does Mattie really love Ethan?
Mattie in Love As a young woman, Mattie seems to be truly in love with Ethan. Everything from turning down Denis Eady to declaring her love indicates that her affection for Ethan is sincere.
What does the pickle dish symbolize in Ethan Frome?
The Red Glass Pickle-dish Symbol Analysis. The pickle-dish, Zeena’s favorite wedding present, is a symbol of Ethan and Zeena’s marriage. For this reason, its destruction is particularly devastating to Zeena. The red color of the dish can be interpreted as symbolizing the passion that the couple no longer share.
Is Starkfield Massachusetts real?
Starkfield, a fictional Massachusetts city in the novel Ethan Frome.
What does Zeena think of Mattie’s housekeeping?
What does Zeena think about Mattie’s housekeeping? She is critical of Mattie’s housekeeping.
How are Mattie and Zeena similar?
Mattie is a compassionate, lively, outgoing woman who tries hard and has a positive outlook on life. Zeena, on the other hand, is a pessimistic, cold-hearted, and dull woman who is too self-absorbed to have fun in her life.
Why was Ethan Frome written?
Wharton began the story that became Ethan Frome in the early 1900s as an exercise in writing for a tutor she hired to improve her French conversational skills. She based the tale on her experiences of several summers’ residence at the Wharton country home in Lenox, Massachusetts.