April / Wharton Reading: 'Ethan Frome'

[Janine]

There is a definite contrast of old world and new in this story. Wharton herself has said so in commentaries. It is a recurrent theme in many of her works. It is very prominent in EF.
I can see that it was not "smart" for Ethan to stay. but he was trapped by the guilt and duty to Zeena for taking care of his aging, dying parents. How could he leave? He just was too nice a guy to abandon someone that way. I don't know if being nice is being weak, or not brave. I feel someone accepting his duty of husband, like that, in those early days, was not so uncommon and not a sign of being a weak person by doing so. When exactly did he have the chance to leave - before marrying Zeena? You could say that, but the thing is circumstances dictated him staying home and jointly caring for the sick parents. He got used to this being a normal way of life and resigned himself to the duties of the farm and parents care. He got trapped over time not overnight! The "iert" process took time and Zeena was subtle and conniving to get him to marry her, born out of duty and guilt. She really played on his emotions and good nature and he caved in and married her. I don't think he ever loved her one tiny bit. It was all duty and payback. Nor do I think Zeena actually loved Ethan. One could say from the start it was a loveless marriage.

[papayahed]

The "iert" process took time and Zeena was subtle and conniving to get him to marry her, born out of duty and guilt. She really played on his emotions and good nature and he caved in and married her.

Where does it say that in the book?

[Virgil]

(Sidenote: What kind of farm did Ethan have? )

I don't think it ever says. And is it my impression, but is everyone else not a farmer? I get the impression Ethan is the only farmer in the whole county.

[Scheherazade]

I think Ethan is some kind of a lumberjack?

Janine> I don't we are given enough information (if at all) in the story to conclude that Zeena actually actively planned (connivingly or otherwise) to make Ethan marry her.

[papayahed]

I don't think it ever says. And is it my impression, but is everyone else not a farmer? I get the impression Ethan is the only farmer in the whole county.

I'm thinking he's the only poor farmer!

[Janine]

As Scher pointed out Ethan is apparently a lumberjack who owns a farm. I don't think farming is his first vocation, dealing in lumber seems to bring in his living.

[Virgil]

As Scher pointed out Ethan is apparently a lumberjack who owns a farm. I don't think farming is his first vocation, dealing in lumber seems to bring in his living.

Yeah, he was delivering logs in one scene. But theyt keep referring to a farm, and he has some run down mill that might not be functional. Not entirely clear to me.

[Janine]

Well, is it really that important to know specifically about what Ethan does for a living? I get the sense he runs his delapidated farm to sustain himself, Matty and the wife, and then his basic income was cutting trees and selling them - or it could be visa-versa, but it seems from the story he makes the money from the trees. We seem to be getting caught up in this discussion on some trivial details. I don't think that Wharton meant to be specific about these things. She merely gives us clues or a sense of his situation and his work. The important thing here about the farm, mill, house is it's stagnant qualities and dilapidated condition, like Ethan himself. Nothing has progressed since the accident occurred. It was as if time stood still from that moment on.
Perhaps we can go onto other aspects of the story, like how the narrator is affected by the story. He undergos a sort of transformation from the beginning of the book to the end.

[Nightshade]

Does s/he???

[Janine]

Night - Does s/he??? ...what?

[Nightshade]

narrortor under go transformation

[Janine]

Well his is maybe not a true transformation, just that the story affects him in various ways, by the end. I was really trying to come up with another aspect of the story to discuss. Any ideas, Night?

[Virgil]

I don't see a transformation either, but I think he (narrator is a he to me ) is enlightened in some sense. I think he understands the human heart better.

[Janine]

I don't see a transformation either, but I think he (narrator is a he to me ) is enlightened in some sense. I think he understands the human heart better.

Thanks, Virgil, this is what I was getting at; the idea of a better understanding, on his part, of the "human heart" - good way of putting it! Also a greater compassion for his fellow man.

I see the narrator as a he, also.

Thought this thread in a bit of a lull. I looked somethings about the book up online and found this study site helpful. May give us some idea on things to discuss. Here's the link:

http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/frome/

[Virgil]

I've been torn as to whether the climatic sled crash scene really fit with the novel. That site you posted Janine had an interesting analysis of it:

The sled ride is a symbol for Wharton's conception of free will and fate, a conception shaped by Naturalism. Although Ethan has some power in steering the sleigh, the track carries them down on the final run. Ethan steers the sled to some extent, but gravity and the shape of the hill drive them down into the elm. Man's freedom exists within a very narrow range of options. In the opening, we already learned that Ethan had a terrible accident, and so the event seems all the more fixed. Wharton has been foreshadowing the accident all along. We also know that Ethan is still going to be alive at the time when the narrator arrives in Starkfield, and so we immediately know that their suicide attempt is going to be unsuccessful. The suicide attempt is the final and most terrible failed plan of Ethan Frome. It caps off a long string of aborted plans and frustrated wishes, and this time the consequences are tragic.

If Wharton really meant it as symbolic of fate, well I have a problem. Not with the symbol but whether than Ethan had a choice. Yes, he was contrained. But he could have left. He didn't have to commit suicide. He could have put Mattie on the train. He could have brought her back and told Zeena to shut up. He had options. I feel that way and just about everyone discussing here has said similar. I had a problem with the ending from the moment I read it. How is it fatalistic to choose to get into a sled and crash oneself into a tree? It doesn't seem to follow, and yet like that analysis I do believe that's what Wharton intended. And so for me, I have to say, while I thought this was an excellent novel, it doesn't get the ending right.