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.
Essay Topics
What role does the narrator play in Ethan Frome? Does he seem reliable, and to what extent does his reliability matter?
Discuss the significance of Ruth Varnum/Mrs. Hale to the novel. Why might Wharton have chosen to include her in both the frame story and the main narrative?
How does Wharton foreshadow the story’s ending? How do these instances of foreshadowing impact your understanding of the debate surrounding free will in the novel?
Ethan Frome frequently refers to the deaths of Ethan’s mother and father. Discuss the relevance of their fates to the novel’s overall meaning.
How do sickness, gender, and class interact in Ethan Frome? Consider elements such as Zeena’s hypochondria and Mattie’s sickliness when she first arrives in Starkfield.
Compare and contrast Mattie and Zeena. What does each woman represent to Ethan?
What does Ethan find compelling about engineering, science, and nature? What is the relevance of these interests to the novel’s broader themes?
How does Wharton depict Starkfield, and what is the significance of the novel’s setting?
Ethan Frome devotes a great deal of attention to body language, tone, and expression. Choose two to three examples of this point to analyze, focusing especially on how they reflect the novel’s interest in perspective and interpersonal connection.
Discuss Mattie and Ethan’s attempted suicide. How does the way it unfolds impact your understanding of the characters and their relationship to one another?
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By Edith Wharton
