Ethan Frome

Author: (USA) Walton
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-03-01
Features: This book is a unique novel by Walton. The setting is no longer the upper-class society of New York but a poor and cold small town in New England. The protagonist Ethan Frome, who once received a secondary education, is firmly tied to the farm due to a series of family misfortunes and later subjected to the tyrannical and domineering torment of his wife Zenia, who lies in bed all day claiming illness. Ethan falls in love with his cousin Mattie, whom Zenia hires to help with household chores. When Zenia discovers this, she orders Mattie to leave the farm immediately. The lovers decide to commit suicide by sledding into a tree, but unfortunately, they survive but become disabled. From then on, Zenia takes care of the two, and the three misfortunes suffer miserably in the dilapidated farmhouse.