The reader is introduced to Ethan Frome by the narrator, who describes him as the ruin of a man. That he has a careless powerful look, with something bleak and unapproachable in his face. His stiff and grizzled look, aging him beyond his fifty-two years. Ethan treks out to the post office every day, even if it’s to pick up a copy of the Bettsbridge Eagle. The picture the narrator 's paints for the reader is that Ethan is unhappy, but has given up on changing his life displayed by the cat that he is stuck in a routine. When Ethan was young, he showed potential and was on the path of escaping life in Starkfield. However, he seemed to always be thwarted by his circumstance. Ethan had good reason to leave behind his studies as an engineer at