April / Wharton Reading: 'Ethan Frome'

[Virgil]

What I find intriguing and I keep wondering about is what happened that night when the narrator stayed at the Frome farm????? Did Ethan tell him the story? I can't really believe that is the case, Ethan seems too Tacturn. Did he get tidbits from Zeena and/or Mattie? That to means seems more likely. I get the feeling that both Zeena and Mattie would take this oppotunity to complain/talk to a new set of ears.

I've had those exact same thoughts. I assume that Ethan took a liking to the engineer and spilled his guts. But he does seem tactiturn.

[Nightshade]

Well Ive read up to chapter 5 solidly and then skim read the rest ( Ill probably read another couple of chapters properly tonight)
I thought wuthering heights at the beginig, and I did also think the narrator might be a woman. . Up till chapter 5 I do kind of like Zeneeba but I know when I read a head Im about to change my min then change back again.

Now as to the Hypocondriac an illness, my grandmother was always always ill and because she didnt have anything to do she just had time to think about how ill she was and it got worse. Then my uncle opened a buisness set her as manger and she was great for years...shes now very sick again and thats life.
So I think zeeba was okay whenever 'the call' came to her because she had to think of somthing else.

[Virgil]

On the Ethan Frome favorites thread, someone called Mattie brainless, and Sleepywitch said we don't really know how intelligent she is. I've been wanting to put this out there but was waiting for the right time. Perhaps now is the right time.

A motif that seems to run through the book is a distinction on whether the characters are "smart." In the Introduction (I keep calling it a Preface because that's what my edition called it, but I see Introduction elsewhere) we have several instances:

Harmon drew a slab of tobacco from his pocket, cut off a wedge and pressed it into the leather pouch of his cheek. "Guess he's been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away."

...When I had been there a little longer, and had seen this phase of crystal clearness followed by long stretches of sunless cold; when the storms of February had pitched their white tents about the. devoted village and the wild cavalry of March winds had charged down to their support; I began to understand why Starkfield emerged from its six months' siege like a starved garrison capitulating without quarter. Twenty years earlier the means of resistance must have been far fewer, and the enemy in command of almost all the lines of access between the beleaguered villages; and, considering these things, I felt the sinister force of Harmon's phrase: "Most of the smart ones get away." But if that were the case, how could any combination of obstacles have hindered the flight of a man like Ethan Frome?

I hoped that this incident might set up some more direct communication between us. Frome was so simple and straightforward that I was sure his curiosity about the book was based on a genuine interest in its subject. Such tastes and acquirements in a man of his condition made the contrast more poignant between his outer situation and his inner needs, and I hoped that the chance of giving expression to the latter might at least unseal his lips...

In chapter 1, Ethan shows off his learning to Mattie:

"That's Orion down yonder; the big fellow to the right is Aldebaran, and the bunch of little ones- like bees swarming- they're the Pleiades..." or whom he could hold entranced before a ledge of granite thrusting up through the fern while he unrolled the huge panorama of the ice age, and the long dim stretches of succeeding time. The fact that admiration for his learning mingled with Mattie's wonder at what he taught was not the least part of his pleasure. And there were other sensations, less definable but more exquisite, which drew them together with a shock of silent joy: the cold red of sunset behind winter hills, the flight of cloud-flocks over slopes of golden stubble, or the intensely blue shadows of hemlocks on sunlit snow. When she said to him once: "It looks just as if it was painted!" it seemed to Ethan that the art of definition could go no farther, and that words had at last been found to utter his secret soul....

Then also in chapter 2 Mattie describes herself as not smart:

Their arms had slipped apart and they stood motionless, each seeking to distinguish the other's face.
"I know I ain't anything like as smart as I ought to be," she went on, while he vainly struggled for expression. "There's lots of things a hired girl could do that come awkward to me still- and I haven't got much strength in my arms. But if she'd only tell me I'd try. You know she hardly ever says anything, and sometimes I can see she ain't suited, and yet I don't know why."

And in chapter 4, Zeena is labeled as "smart":

When they married it was agreed that, as soon as he could straighten out the difficulties resulting from Mrs. Frome's long illness, they would sell the farm and saw-mill and try their luck in a large town. Ethan's love of nature did not take the form of a taste for agriculture. He had always wanted to be an engineer, and to live in towns, where there were lectures and big libraries and "fellows doing things." A slight engineering job in Florida, put in his way during his period of study at Worcester, increased his faith in his ability as well as his eagerness to see the world; and he felt sure that, with a "smart" wife like Zeena, it would not be long before he had made himself a place in it.

And I could swear, although I didn't jot it down, that Denis Eady is characterized as smart. And I'm sure it comes up in places throughout the novel that i didn't pick up on.

Certainly this is a conscious motif that Wharton is employing here. However, I can't quite pin down what she is suggesting. I suspect it has to do with what I called earlier in this thread the modern world versus the old world. But what are people's thoughts on this?

[Janine]

Virgil, Consider it might be in the way the word "smart" is used. It might indicate, in Zeena's, case more of a smart move than her being smart in a full sense of the word. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Zeena lacks being smart - to the contrary - although she has the illness of "hypocondria" -that would not render her dumb or stupid. Many mentally ill people, in fact, are highly intelligent. I just wonder, if when Wharton uses the word "smart", she is not using it in the sense that that is what others perceive them as being. Such as the town would see and accept Zeena as being a smart woman and therefore it a smart move to marry her for Ethan in the town's eyes, whereas Matty, being poor and uneducated would be considered dumb and stupid. She seemed to have other talents, liking to dance and sing, but this seems insignificant to everyone. Perhaps she has her own talents we don't know of in this limited story. This does not make a person dumb because they are not good at one thing, but may make up for it in another aspect or aspects. Agreed she was inefficient at housework and mundane farm duties, but if I was put in her position I would probably be the same way, since my talents lie elseware. Now I don't consider myself dumb because of that fact. Also, being uneducated is not the same as being dim witted or dumb. I see Matty as uneducated and poor and Zeena may have been educated at one time, who knows? Apparently she had more opportunities than Matty did in the past. Matty seemed to be poorer and in a more dire situation than Matty ever was.

Nightshade ,your comments were very good concerning your own grandmother comparison. I also knew a woman like this and she could rally to care for others, when the need presented itself. In this way she did improve for a time, but usually it was not a permanent improvement or cure. These type people are very sad indeed.

[Virgil]

To be honest Janine, I don't know what to make of the word, "smart." it does run through the novel, so that one can see that it is a loaded word. By loaded I mean the author by her use has packed more meaning into the word than normal.

And Nightshade's comment about her grandmother were very insightful. I meant to highlight that, but got lost in my posting and then forgot.

[bouquin]

On the Ethan Frome favorites thread, someone called Mattie brainless, and Sleepywitch said we don't really know how intelligent she is. I've been wanting to put this out there but was waiting for the right time. Perhaps now is the right time.

A motif that seems to run through the book is a distinction on whether the characters are "smart." In the Introduction (I keep calling it a Preface because that's what my edition called it, but I see Introduction elsewhere) we have several instances:

Here's a description of Mattie in chapter 1:
Mattie had no natural turn for housekeeping, and her training had done nothing to remedy the defect. She was quick to learn, but forgetful and dreamy, and not disposed to take the matter seriously. Ethan had an idea that if she were to marry a man she was fond of the dormant instinct would wake, and her pies and biscuits become the pride of the country; but domesticity in the abstract did not interest her.

[Nightshade]

I did point out that my grandmother really is very ill, didnt I?
ah well anyway onwards upwards as they say....oh yes read some more on the train and I just thought you know when the pickle dish is broken and Zeena starts crying and says mattie took/broke the most important thing to her...it suddenly occured to me shes talking about her marriage to Ethan isnt she no nessearily the dish.
A case of the straw that broke the camels back??

[Janine]

Here's a description of Mattie in chapter 1:
Mattie had no natural turn for housekeeping, and her training had done nothing to remedy the defect. She was quick to learn, but forgetful and dreamy, and not disposed to take the matter seriously. Ethan had an idea that if she were to marry a man she was fond of the dormant instinct would wake, and her pies and biscuits become the pride of the country; but domesticity in the abstract did not interest her.

"She was quick to learn, but forgetful and dreamy, and not disposed to take the matter seriously." Matty sounds like me

I did point out that my grandmother really is very ill, didnt I?
ah well anyway onwards upwards as they say....oh yes read some more on the train and I just thought you know when the pickle dish is broken and Zeena starts crying and says mattie took/broke the most important thing to her...it suddenly occured to me shes talking about her marriage to Ethan isnt she no nessearily the dish.
A case of the straw that broke the camels back??

Nightshade, That is an interesting observation/correlation. I think it does indicate more than just a broken dish - definitely it is quite important and broken and can't be repaired or really replaced. It did symbolise perhaps the ideal that Zeena kept of her marriage (really an illusion) and so she never used the dish - kept it safely on the top shelf of the china cabinet. This would symbolise her attitude to the marriage - keep it hidden away and from harm/safe/ yet inert. Yes, it certainly was like a 'broken marriage' to her eyes and the 'beginning of the end' perhaps or at least the 'major threat'. She could blame it all on Matty that way. It was the straw that broke the camel's back perhaps, but the wheels were in motion before this definitive revelation. Still it defined it to the reader. Yes, very good, Nightshade. I had not thought of it in quite that way.

[Nightshade]

Oh I also wanted to say that I dont think that the original narrator is the only voice-- that is telling the main story because s/he points out that they dont know what happened and anyway who told them the story. No I think the middle bit is the true story that s/he only hears differant versions of. note how the guy in the beging says somthing that makes it seem like zeena is to blame for everything and Mrs hale thinks zeena takes care of everyone and in a way is the bees knees.

[papayahed]

I think the whole smart is just to hammer home the personalities of the three main characters. Zeena - very shrewd and aware, Mattie - young wide-eyed young girl, and Ethan - wasted/missed oppotunity.

[Janine]

I think the whole smart is just to hammer home the personalities of the three main characters. Zeena - very shrewd and aware, Mattie - young wide-eyed young girl, and Ethan - wasted/missed oppotunity.

Papaya,That's a good thought - it sort of sums it up. Also, smart might be the way in which Wharton summaries the attitudes of society. A smart marriage - I have heard that said before - it does not necessarily mean the marriage partners are smart but that the marriage is practical and a good idea for each. I wondered if Wharton did not mean this very thing when she said a smart wife in Ethan's case, as Virgil has quoted that statement here:

"A slight engineering job in Florida, put in his way during his period of study at Worcester, increased his faith in his ability as well as his eagerness to see the world; and he felt sure that, with a "smart" wife like Zeena, it would not be long before he had made himself a place in it."

[Virgil]

I think the whole smart is just to hammer home the personalities of the three main characters. Zeena - very shrewd and aware, Mattie - young wide-eyed young girl, and Ethan - wasted/missed oppotunity.

Yes but why characterize people in contradistinction to intelligence. It has the makings of suggestion, and the way it's introduced in the Introduction is definetely to make a point:

Harmon drew a slab of tobacco from his pocket, cut off a wedge and pressed it into the leather pouch of his cheek. "Guess he's been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away."

Given that Ethan does not get away, the word carries extra meaning.

Here's the definition of smart from M-W:

Main Entry: 1smart
Pronunciation: 'smärt
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English smert causing pain, from Old English smeart; akin to Old English smeortan
1 : making one smart : causing a sharp stinging
2 : marked by often sharp forceful activity or vigorous strength <a smart pull of the starter cord>
3 : BRISK, SPIRITED <a smart pace>
4 a : mentally alert : BRIGHT b : KNOWLEDGEABLE c : SHREWD <a smart investment>
5 a : WITTY, CLEVER <a smart sitcom> b : PERT, SAUCY <don't get smart with me>
6 a : NEAT, TRIM <soldiers in smart uniforms> b : stylish or elegant in dress or appearance c (1) : appealing to sophisticated tastes (2) : characteristic of or patronized by fashionable society
7 a : being a guided missile <a laser-guided smart bomb> b : operating by automation <a smart machine tool> c : INTELLIGENT 3
- smart·ly adverb
- smart·ness noun

Amazing how even the etomological definition has implication to the novel's story:
smart ~ causing a sharp stinging; the climax?

But even still, the intelligence connotation still suggests to me the difference between old world mentality and new world mentality.

[byquist]

byquist, well in the film version, when Hamlet recites this line, it always gets to me. I think - wow that is me! Some may think "what - a nut?" Truly though I am happy in my own little/huge world of "infinite space" - everything is in the perception of life.
You bring up a very interesting point and analogy to "Heart of Darkness". Unfortunately I have not read the book, but now it interests me, and lately I have been hearing a lot about it. If Conrad is seeing the glow on the outside of the nut, then I would think it a 'departure'. Well, not unusual that he might have thought about the Shakespeare words, since all authors draw from knowledge of other authors, even subconsciously. Perhaps he wished to expand on the nutshell image and meaning or deviate and express his own perception. I personally see the shell as a 'confinement' that really is an 'expansion' - of mind and spirit. Some may say readers are in a world of their own and retreat from the real world, or dreamers, or visionaries. But perhaps their world is more 'real' than the 'physical' world which most would consider "real". This would be my understanding on the Shakespeare quote. What do you think? Certainly it is an interesting connection to the Conrad story. I will have to venture further into it.

Makes total sense what you say. Reminds me of that Simon & Garfunkel song about staying in his room and letting his poetry protect him.

[Janine]

Yes but why characterize people in contradistinction to intelligence. It has the makings of suggestion, and the way it's introduced in the Introduction is definetely to make a point:


Given that Ethan does not get away, the word carries extra meaning.

Here's the definition of smart from M-W:


Amazing how even the etomological definition has implication to the novel's story:
smart ~ causing a sharp stinging; the climax?

But even still, the intelligence connotation still suggests to me the difference between old world mentality and new world mentality.

Virgil, Interesting definition "sharp stinging"....well Wharton was a satirist, wasn't she in most of her works? So perhaps she is using the word "smart" satirically by using it often and giving it various connotations and deeper meanings or references.
I especially like definition #4.c the word "Shrewd"- that would describe the manor how Zeena appears smart.

4 a : mentally alert : BRIGHT b : KNOWLEDGEABLE c : SHREWD <a smart investment>

"Given that Ethan does not get away, the word carries extra meaning".
I do agree with this - the contrast in the statement makes this more evident - and the fact that Ethan got left behind and did not get away when he could have.

Makes total sense what you say. Reminds me of that Simon & Garfunkel song about staying in his room and letting his poetry protect him.

byquist, Oh, I had to think for a minute what you were referring to - my signature.
Yes, thank you very much. It does remind me of that song, also. It is a great song! S&G are favorites.

[papayahed]

Harmon drew a slab of tobacco from his pocket, cut off a wedge and pressed it into the leather pouch of his cheek. "Guess he's been in Starkfield too many winters. Most of the smart ones get away."

Given that Ethan does not get away, the word carries extra meaning.

ummm I don't think so. Well maybe, I think he Harmon isn't necessarily talking about the town or the area. I think he's talking about the way of life, as you mentioned before the old world - particularly Ethan and his farm. (Sidenote: What kind of farm did Ethan have? ) I think that sets Ethan appart for everyone as well, which goes back to his social status. By the time the narrator is in town Ethan is like a walking museum. Ethan wasn't "smart" enough / not brave enough to ditch the farm when he had the chance.