The fatal paralysis of whartons neighbor ethel cram after a ponycart accident in 1905 also played a role in shaping the narrative. A life full of obligation and duty, with no hint of joy or spontaneity. Later, shes reading a book ethan paid extra postage for its delivery called. Zenobia s faultfinding was of the silent kind, but not the less penetrating for that. And if you read it and rated it one or two stars, you probably dont like it because you think everyone falls somewhere on the seth rogantony robbins spectrum of affable enthusiasm for life. This book comes with an introduction by dr donald r makosky, professor of. Mattie is given the occasional night off to entertain herself in town as partial recompense for taking care of the frome family without pay, and ethan has fallen into the. Zenobia, though doubtful of the girls efficiency, was tempted by the freedom to find fault without much risk of losing her. She is acutely interested in the treatment of her own illness, displaying a degree of. Buy ethan frome wordsworth classics by edith wharton from amazons fiction books store. Ethan is waiting outside a church dance for mattie, his wifes cousin, who lives with ethan and his wife zeena zenobia to help around the house since zeena is sickly.
Zeenafrome, and usually bearing conspicuously in the upper lefthand corner the address of some manufacturer of patent medicine and the name of his specific. The marriage is loveless, and zeena is sickly and nagging. Edith whartons novel, ethan frome, reflects the authors unsatisfactory. Starring liam neeson as ethan frome, joan allen as zenobia, and patricia arquette. Zeena frome, and usually bearing conspicuously in the upper lefthand corner the address of some manufacturer of patent medicine and the name of his specific. When discussing ethan, the narrator proclaims, guess hes been in starkfield too many winters. Zeena had sacrificed her life to the man she loved, ethan frome. Ethan frome is set in the fictional new england town of starkfield, where a visiting engineer tells the story of his encounter with ethan frome, a man with a history of thwarted dreams and desires. Though wharton based her more famous books in new york, including the house of mirth and the pulitzer prizewinning the age of innocence, she set ethan frome in. Furthermore, zeena, a hypochondriac in the eyes of ethan frome, is used as a foil for mattie silver. After ethan and matties sledding accident, she cares for them and runs the household. His initial impressions are based on his observations of frome going about his mundane tasks in starkfield, and something. Download edith wharton,s ethan frome for your kindle, tablet, ipad, pc or mobile.
Character analysis zenobia zeena frome zeenas character is revealed through ethans memory and the action of the main story, and through hints from characters in the frame story. Although frome seems ambitious and intelligent, zeena holds him back. Ethan frome is set in a fictional new england town named starkfield, where an unnamed narrator tells the story of his encounter with ethan frome, a man with dreams and desires that end in an ironic turn of events. Ethan frome is one of those stories that people have a strong reaction to, typically in the negative.
The younger one mentioned it recently, and i decided to give it a read. Ethan frome wharton, edith, leyris, pierre, leyris. First published in 1911, ethan frome is edith whartons tale of thwarted dreams and desires set in small new england town at the turn of the 20th century. And of ethan s and matties awkward, hidebound passion in. While she is technically the victim of ethans plans to commit adultery, the reader comes to sympathize much more with ethan, because he feels imprisoned in his marriage to the sickly and shrewish zeena. Mattie silver was the daughter of a cousin of zenobia frome s, who had inflamed his clan with mingled sentiments of envy and admiration by. Buy ethan frome wordsworth classics by edith wharton from amazons. Ethan frome project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Zenobia frome ethans sickly wife, more commonly known as zeena. Zenobia frome correlates herself with the evil queen. Characters zenobia zeena frome though zeena is not as rounded a character as her husband, the negative aspects of her personality emerge quite clearly, making her seem like the novels villain.
The age of innocence modern library 100 best novels english edition. The main characters are ethan frome, his wife zenobia, called zeena, and her young cousin mattie silver. In ethan frome by edith wharton, the story of ethan fromes life leading to his present circumstances is evaluated by the narrator, a man trapped in starkfield, massachusetts due to one of the areas infamous storms. This very sad tale ethan frome is an account of the life of zenobia frome, zeena. Ethan fromes hypochondriacal, nag ging, belittling wife.
She is a hypochondriac, constantly suffering from a variety of physical ailments. She was named after the great roman queen who led a revolt against the empire somewhat like princess leia. Frome, zenobia article about frome, zenobia by the free. I first read the short novel as a junior in high school, and it scared me. As told by gabriel in the new york journalamerican, the play concerns farmer ethan frome, his complaining wife zenobia, and her young kinswoman and housedrudge mattie silver. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Zenobia frome zeena ethan s wife and matties cousin. While ethans attraction to mattie is dangerous and frowned upon, he is unable to resist her charm. Ethan frome is a 1911 book by american author edith wharton. What little we know or understand about zenobia frome and her young. The fairy maiden anthropomorphizes into a greater evil.
Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. Wharton describes zeenas physical appearance as gaunt, wrinkled, and sallowfaced. Zenobia pierce frome zeena, ethans wife, a distant cousin who nursed his mother during a long illness. Frome and zeena marry after she nurses his mother in her last illness. Mattie silver, a cousin of ethans wife zenobia zeena brings a small amount of light and life into ethans life. Ethan fromeedith wharton,free downloadpdf epubfreeditorial. Protagonist of the novel, ethan is a miserable, passive man weighed down by his inability to contend with unfortunate circumstances. In a reworking of the book edith whartons ethan frome, zenobia frome is given her own voice, which she uses to tell of the events and emotions that led her to. While she is technically the victim of ethans plans to commit adultery, the reader comes to sympathize much more with ethan, because he feels. Both of my sons love this book and talk about it frequently.
Mais zeena a decide dengager une servante, et mattie doit partir. And of ethans and matties awkward, hidebound passion in. Though zeena complains and criticizes, ethan prefers to suffer in silence, leading to his attraction to the upbeat mattie. Zenobia frome called zeena throughout the book, she is the wife of ethan frome. An entrancing but sad story of a povertystricken massachusetts farmer caught in a loveless marriage. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. If you know starkfield, massachusetts, you know the postoffice. The accumulated longing of frome ends in an ironic turn of events. Young ethan frome walked at a quick pace along the desertedstreet, past the bank and michael eadys new brick store and lawyer varnumshouse with the two black norway spruces at the gate. The characters in ethan frome are particularly marked by the physical transformations they undergo. Zenobias faultfinding was of the silent kind, but not the less penetrating for that.
Ethan frome book by edith wharton official publisher. In the dark and gloomy tale of ethan frome, the story emerges as an inverted fairytale. Zeenas character is revealed through ethans memory and the action of the main story, and through hints from characters in the frame story. Ethan pays a heavy price for this, as do both mattie and to a lesser extent zeena. Originally she was brought to fromes house to care for his ailing mother, but after she married ethan she became a querulous hypochondriac alternating between long bouts of silence and then rage. The ethan frome quotes below are all either spoken by zenobia zeena frome or refer to zenobia zeena frome. Theyre very poor but have taken in zeenas cousin mattie silver to help zeena around the house. Published in 1911, ethan frome is widely regarded as edith whartons most revealing novel and her finest achievement in fiction. His ambition and intelligence are oppressed by zeenas cold, conniving character. The cold, bleak setting seems so appropriate to ethan frome s existence. Zeenafrome, and usually bearing conspicuously in the upper left hand corner the address of some manufacturer.
Its a grim new england horror show puritanism, repression, and stoic endurance more ghastly than that other high school english favorite. In chapter i, ethan is waiting outside a church dance for mattie, his wifes cousin, who has for a year lived with ethan and his sickly wife, zeena zenobia, in order to help out around the house and farm. Zenobia frome zeena ethans wife and matties cousin. Wharton publishes the decoration of houses, a book that she wrote with architect. Ethan frome by edith wharton, first edition abebooks. Ethan frome by edith wharton meet your next favorite book. The narrator tells the story based on an account from observations at fromes house wh. 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 the postoffice you must have seen ethan frome drive up to it, drop the reins on his hollowbacked bay and drag himself. Though zeena is not as rounded a character as her husband, the negative. Mattie silver, a cousin of ethan s wife zenobia zeena brings a small amount of light and life into ethan s life. The younger one mentioned it recently, and i decided to give it a. After the death of the mother, ethan married zenobia, most likely out of pity. Opposite the varnum gate,where the road fell away toward the corbury valley, the church reared its slimwhite steeple and narrow peristyle. I dont remember ever reading it though i saw the movie with liam neeson and patricia arquette a long time ago.
The story of ethan frome had initially begun as a frenchlanguage composition that wharton had to write while studying the language in paris, but several years later she took the story up again and transformed it into the novel it now is, basing her sense of new england culture and place on her ten years of living at the mount, her home in lenox, massachusetts. When her young cousin mattie comes to stay on their new england farm, frome falls in love with her. Through the course of the story, we learn how title character ethan frome transformed from a healthy young man with dreams and aspirations into a man with severe spinal injury, a suspicious red gash on. Ethan frome drove in silence, the reins loosely held in his left hand, his brown seamed profile, under the helmetlike peak of the cap, relieved against the banks of snow like the bronze image of a hero. Set in the bleak, barren landscape of new england, it is the tragic tale of ethan frome, bound to the demands of his farm and his tyrannical wife, zeena, and his star crossed love for zeenas vivacious cousin, mattie. She appears to be a skinny woman with an unhealthy, pale face and fake teeth. Zeenas character is revealed through ethan s memory and the action of the main story, and through hints from characters in the frame story.
Ethan frome, a poor, downtrodden new england farmer is trapped in a loveless marriage to his invalid wife, zeena. She comes across as prematurely aged, caustic in temperament, prone to alternating fits of silence and rage, and utterly unattractive, making her the novels least sympathetic figure. During the first months ethan alternately burned with the desire to see mattie defy her and trembled. She would read portions of her novelinprogress each day to her good friend walter berry, who was an international lawyer. Starring julie harris as mattie silver and sterling hayden as ethan frome. When zeenas young cousin mattie arrives to help care for her, ethan is immediately taken by matties warm, vivacious personality. She has false teeth and her hair is kept in place with crimping pins. She is a cold, unhappy, domineering woman who whines and complains incessantly. At intervals, however, the postmaster would hand him an envelope addressed to mrs. She joins the frome household to work as a housekeeper and aide to zeena. Ethan frome study guide literature guide litcharts. She is taciturn, always dissatisfied and looking for pseudoillness. Ethan frome is one of my all time favorites, so reading about zeena is great. These physical changes give us hints of depths of the inner transformations taking place.
The climactic scene in ethan frome was inspired by a sledding accident in lenox in 1904 that killed one young woman and gravely injured four of her companions wharton knew one of the victims. Piecing together the story of monosyllabic ethan frome, his grim wife, zeena, and. Ethan frome cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. The cold, bleak setting seems so appropriate to ethan fromes existence. On the way down, a vision of zeenas face startles ethan into swerving a bit, but he corrects their course, and they crash headlong and at high. Ethan frome by edith wharton nook book ebook barnes. Sudipta datta looks back at ethan frome by edith wharton. The narrator tells the story based on an account from observations at.
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