Ethan Frome Setting Analysis

Every choice an author makes about his or her novel is critical, as even the miniscule details have an impact on the story and its overall cohesiveness. A story’s setting, for instance, is necessary for the development of tone. An author must choose a location and time for the novel to take place in that is not only relevant, but can add to readers’ understanding and experience while reading the book. For instance, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton takes place in Starkfield, Massachusetts during the winter; this setting was chosen and described in such a way to be able to emphasize the emotions of Ethan Frome, the main character, throughout the story. From the beginning of the novel, Wharton made Ethan’s love for Mattie conspicuous. However, Ethan

Constantly afflicted by illness, Zeena planned to leave town and visit a new doctor in an attempt to find a remedy for her pain. After hearing this, “Ethan tried to say something befitting the occasion, but there was only one thought in his mind: the fact that, for the first time since Mattie had come to live with them, Zeena was to be away for a night” (Wharton 47). With Zeena around, he and Mattie were forced to restrain from being too open with each other, so her temporary departure and the idea of being alone with Mattie “sent up his spirits with a rush, and he, who was usually so silent, whistled and sang aloud as he drove through the snowy fields” (Wharton 49). Wharton reflected this feeling in her description of the morning Zeena left. She wrote how “the winter morning was as clear as crystal. The sunrise burned red in a pure sky, the shadows on the rim of the wood-lot were darkly blue, and beyond the white and scintillating fields patches of far-off forest hung like smoke” (41). The morning being depicted this beautifully created a happy, hopeful tone, which highlighted how Ethan was feeling about his evening with Mattie and made it appear more exciting. By choosing a setting where scenes as brilliant as what was depicted were possible, and by describing the scenes in such an alluring way, the author opened up the opportunity for these feelings of joy to be

This disappointment was only made worse when Zeena revealed that the doctor recommended getting a hired girl to do all of the work around the house, which meant replacing Mattie. After hearing the news,“despair seized [Ethan] at the thought of [Mattie] setting out alone to renew the weary quest for work. In the only place where she was known she was surrounded by indifference or animosity… It was not possible to think of such things without a revolt of his whole being” (Wharton 88). Ethan had loved Mattie and wished to persuade Zeena to let Mattie stay, but she could not be swayed, which added to his distress. To further communicate this sorrow, Wharton wrote how on that day “a sleety rain was coming down” (72), which later “changed into a steady rain” (74). The rain gives off a dreary tone, which reflects and adds to Ethan’s emotions throughout these scenes and amplifies his heartbreak. By choosing a setting for the novel with such harsh, unpredictable weather and writing the story to occur during the winter, these weather conditions could realistically be present in the story, so the amplification of Ethan’s emotions through the weather was