79 pages • 2 hours read
Edith WhartonEthan Frome
Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 1911A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Before You Read
Super Short Summary
In Edith Wharton’s novella Ethan Frome, an unnamed engineer becomes intrigued by the story of Ethan Frome, a man who suffered severe injuries in a sledding accident years ago. As Ethan drives the narrator to and from work, the narrator pieces together Ethan’s tragic past involving his unfulfilled love for his wife’s cousin, Mattie Silver, and the fateful events that led to their life-changing accident. The book includes themes such as emotional distress, physical disability, and the complexities of care relationships.
Reviews & Readership
Review Roundup
Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome is lauded for its vivid depiction of rural New England and penetrating character study. Praised for its rich, atmospheric prose and emotional depth, some readers find the narrative to be bleak and its pace slow. Overall, it's celebrated for its literary merit and poignant exploration of human despair and entrapment.
Who Should Read Ethan Frome?
Readers who appreciate deep psychological drama, moral dilemmas, and stark, wintry settings will enjoy Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome. Ideal for fans of the introspective and tragic themes found in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles or Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, it appeals to those drawn to complex human emotions and social constraints.