<p>Ethan Frome: Things to discuss:</p><p>1. The narrator - his role in the story: more than an observer, he is active, in that he puts all of the information together from various sources, creating a cohesive whole which we get, finally, in this form.</p><p>- his (her?) gender: the story is written by a woman, but seems to be told by a man. Does this make a difference? Are there reasons that would compell an author to write from one perspective over another? What about believability? What about reader response or reception?</p><p>2. Format - note the framing device at the beginning and at the end. The whole middle section is really a flashback, although it is reconstructed by the narrator (see above) rather than one character who was involved in the episode.</p><p>- Does the time difference matter? - Four days of action and frame - Looks back 20 or so years</p><p>3. Major Characters - Ethan: -Note the extent to which his character changes. -How much has he been controlled by his environment? -Note the tension between ambition and responsibility in his character. -Is there a parallel here to a tension between dream and reality? -What role does economics play in his life and actions? -To what extent is he a dreamer? a realist? -What kind of decision-making powers does he have? -How influential was his mother on his life? Is there a connection to be made between his mother and Zeena? -Note his description: progresses from size and strength to weak and wrecked. -Why doesn't he run away? -New England taciturnity//longing for intellectual life</p><p>- Zeena: -When is she happiest? -What is the major cause of tension between her and Ethan? Is it Mattie, or is there something else at work in her mind, relative to this dynamic? -How does she respond to responsibilities? -Note any changes her character goes through. What prompts such changes? (A case might be made that her character actually operates in a sort of circular format.) -Given the fact that she seems to be at death's door for much of the story, how remarkable is it that she lasts so long? Why does she recuperate? What does this tell us about her character?</p><p>- Mattie: -Does her character change much in the story? -Note the nature of her dependence or independence. -Is she brave or cowardly? Remember, it is she who first suggests the smash-up. What does this tell us about her character? -- or does it? -What is the nature of her relationship to Ethan? Is she a passive or active player here? -Why does Ethan find her more desirable to be with? Is the attraction purely physical (she's young, pretty)? or is there more to it than that?</p><p>4. The Environment -What sort of role does the geographical place play in this story? -Note parallels between the climate and the personalities of the people. They are not always cold (note the change in Ethan), but the major characters here seem to have grown into such a state. -Figurative imagery here is significant: "granite outcroppings" "sky of iron" the world seems to be in perpetual winter much imagery of Ethan's being hemmed in by cares, responsibilities also note imagery of decay and death throughout the graveyard on Ethan's property -Setting is actively interwoven with other aspects of the novel ("mute melancholy landscape") -Characters and setting merge -Name of town contributes to and is representative of setting -Deadness of setting -- no invigoration -Note how the accumulation of winters has worn on Ethan -Note how the farm has never flourished -Bleakness, contracted, stale, diminished condition of the house: gets smaller and smaller: e.g. "L" taken down to burn for warmth. -Varnum's -- state of decline -Environment is against change. Humans need change. Thus, there is a definite bleakness here, seen in both the setting and the people (and the tone). -Why is the kitchen important?</p><p>5. Other Imagery Constraint, hemmed-in by various things Contrasts: Warm/Cold Mattie/Zeena Desire/Constraint Sympathy/Antagonism Promise/Waste Freedom/Imprisonment Health/Illness</p><p>6. The Smash-Up -How is it precipitated? -Is it inevitable? -Why would they go to such lengths? Is this only a spur-of-the-moment action, or do they really desire the hoped-for consequences? -Why does he insist on riding in front?</p><p>-Note the letter that Ethan tries to write to Zeena the night before Mattie leaves, and the final analysis he does of his situation. What are the controlling circumstances for him? How does he feel regarding Zeena at this point?</p><p>-Is Ethan's problem that he is too upstanding? Is he too nice? Or has he simply made a series of bad decisions that he now has to reckon with? Whose fault is it that he is in the situation he is in? Can blame be assigned? Should it?</p><p>-If Ethan's situation has been precipitated by a series of bad decisions, is this simply another in a long line of bad moves on his part? Does this simply add insult to injury? Or did they get what they wanted? --Mattie doesn't leave, after all, and they are together, in a way, at the end.</p><p>7. The End -Note the isolation of the Frome household at the end. How much do the townspeople know of what goes on there in the present? -Note the curiosity on the part of Mrs. Hale and old Mrs. Varnum regarding the narrator's stay at the Frome farm. -Why might it be worse for Mrs. Hale to see Ethan's face at home than it is to see Zeena and Mattie there? -Why does Mrs. Hale think Ethan has suffered the most? How might that be supported by the text? -Respond to Mrs. Hale's comment that it's a pity that Mattie lived. Why might she think it would have been better that the girl had died? Who might have been better off? Why? -Note the comparison between the Fromes at the farm and those in the graveyard. Is there any foreshadowing of such an attitude earlier in the piece? -Economics comes up again at the end, implying that these people are forced into this situation because they are poor ("my heart tightened at the thought of the hard compulsions of the poor"). How might money have made a difference in the lives of these people? -What is the purpose of the ending? The possibility of change is gone.</p>