Ethan Frome Setting

The setting takes place in a small town called “Starkfield”. Starkfield is a town that is just like its name, it is boring, barren, severe, and harsh. Starkfield is known for its many harsh winters that leave the inhabitants bitter and in harsh condition. Starkfield is a village that lays “under a sheet of snow perpetually renewed from the pale skies” (pg.10).By the time the snow is gone and things are well it snows again. Not only is the snow harsh but it acts as a barrier to many of the residents keeping

Wharton describes a still and serene snow scene to depict the entire mood of Starkville, the dull town where Ethan lives. Wharton shows that before Mattie arrives, Ethan continues a monotonous and bleak life at his vaccant farm with little human interaction. The white, dull, and cold snow represents the emotionless life that Ethan experiences. There is no color or hope, like sprigtime, in Ethan’s life. His future holds more of the same harsh and bitter lifestyle on his farm, while he cares for his lifelong companion, Zeena. Wharton uses the white snow as a way to further understand the rut Ethan

On page 49 the setting is just outside of Holling’s house. The weather during November was like it alway had been, with a sky so gray and damp, “November ... The day turned gray and damp, and hovering mist licked everything” (Schmidt 49). Also, the rain continued on and on without the slightest of breaks, “The perfect white cement sidewalk in front of the Perfect House was always wet” (Schmidt 49). Not only, the gray sky’s carried away what used to be the azaleas bright blossom,”The azaleas lost the remnants of their white and pink blossoms, and then many of theirs leaves ... half naked and embarrassed” (Schmidt 49).

The whole novel taking place in the winter adds to the bitterness and bleak tone of the story. Readers see Starkfield as a place that confines and holds back people from enjoying

When Harmon states that Ethan has been in the town of Starkfield too many winters leads to the narrator finding out that Starkfield and the town members become emotionally buried under the snow covered blanket of Starkfield?s winters. Winter in Starkfield is depressing and cold and it seems to rub off on the residents of the town. People of the town say he is cold and depressing, simply because he has been in Starkfield too many winters.

The novel Ethan Frome is about the Frome inhabitants living in the small society of Starkfield, Massachusetts. Ethan Frome, whom the book is named after, is trapped in a loveless marriage with Zeena, a sickly older woman. He wishes to be with Mattie, the younger, vivacious niece of Zeena who has been staying with the Fromes to help around their house. Because the death of Mattie’s parents left her penniless and homeless, her extended family saw the opportunity of sending her off to the Frome’s as a way to take care of Zeena’s claims to need help because of her sickness. Ethan desires to leave Zeena and be with Mattie, but sees the prospect as impossible due to the rules that have been set upon him by society. The main characters Ethan, Zeena,

The main season in the novel is the ’enemy’ of winter. Edith Wharton uses the climate to match the feelings of people in Starkfield, walking with a ’sluggish pulse’.

Throughout Ethan Frome, winter seems to be a prominent season that is spoken of or described. In symbolic terms, winter is a time of dormancy. It is a time when life gives way to stillness and people take the time to reflect and still their minds and souls. Although winter does, in fact, reflect despair, death, loneliness and pain, it is not all negative. The main component of a winter storm is snow and what color is snow? White. White symbolizes hope, rebirth, naivety and much more just like life in a winter wonderland might. In the case of Ethan Frome though, there seems to be a far darker meaning behind it. The fact that he's "...been in Starkfield too many winters" (Pg. 4) shows the real symbolism that's been the long-lived dormancy of Ethan's life.

The Winter is the opposite of summer, during the winter not only does the winter change but the town's appearance. The houses that once looked artificial were exposed and looked abandoned. “Winter comes down savagely over a little town on the prairie...The roofs, that looked so far away across the green treetops...they are so much more uglier then when their angles were softened by vines and

To be noble you must possess high or excellent qualities. In the novel there are many examples of Ethan Frome being a noble person this is evident throughout his relationship with Zeena, Mattie, and other characters. Ethan put his life on hold and has always been there for his family especially Zeena; however, after Ethan and Zeena married she became ill a year later which put a negative effect on their relationship. Zeena became asexual and a very boring person.

Point of view is typically the first person or third person for the entire novel, unlike Ungifted by, Gordon Korman, where the first person changes throughout the book. While the novel keeps first person from start to finish, Gordon Korman toys with who is in control of the first person. Whilst this is very odd, and not like any other book, this point of view helps the book give depth to the characters.

If developed the right way, the setting can play an important role in a story like this. London builds his setting up quickly, within the first words of this story. The story is set in the wintertime with no sign of the sun, at the Yukon Trail. A deadly and extremely cold area in the country of Canada. In the story, the narrator states, “Day had dawned cold and gray when the man turned aside

The character

As readers dig into the story, they can see that the setting is the deciding factor of the man’s fate. London devotes the entire story to the setting. The setting portrays the mood and visual of the story. London starts off the story by saying that “day had dawned cold

The main protagonists