Mattie soon comes out of the dance, and Ethan watches while Denis Eady tries to give her a ride home. Meanwhile, Ethan has fallen in love with Mattie and wants to spend all his time with her. The two women soon adjusted to each other (sort of) and things weren't as bad as they could have been. Zeena, Ethan's wife, is always sick, and decided to let Mattie live with them in exchange for doing the housework and helping the ailing Zeena.Įthan liked Mattie from the beginning and worried that Zeena was too hard on her. Her father had apparently swindled some of the relatives out of their savings, so nobody wanted to help Mattie. Her parents both died just over a year ago, and she was left with nothing. He peeks in the windows of the church basement and sees Mattie dancing with Denis Eady and is jealous. Now we go back in time 24 years and learn about Ethan's life.Įthan has walked from his farm and sawmill into town to pick up Mattie Silver from the church dance. The man tells us that he learned something that night which allowed him to imagine Ethan's story. In the hall the man hears a woman talking angrily, on and on. One night when the weather is particularly bad, Ethan invites the man to stay at his house. When Ethan begins giving him occasional rides to the train station, the two men strike up a friendship. The man becomes fascinated with Ethan and wants to know his story.

Ethan is a man in his early fifties who is obviously strong, and obviously crippled.

A nameless engineer is in Starkfield, Massachusetts on business and he first sees Ethan Frome at the post office. Edith Wharton wrote Ethan Frome as a frame story - meaning that the prologue and epilogue constitute a 'frame' around the main story

Ethan frome first edition