Customer Reviews

Ethan Frome, with eBook (Tantor Unabridged Classics)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Book Review for Humanities 10 course - by J Patch (San Francisco)

In the book Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, the book talks about a man who is tormented by a passionate love for his ailing wife's younger cousin. Ethan Frome is trapped by the bonds of his marriage and the fear of public condemnation in the small New England town that he lives in. Ethan Frome feels trapped and completely unhappy in his lifeless marriage to a woman who seems to dominate his life. Ethan's wife's cousin "Mattie" comes to live with them at their farm house and Ethan is alive and renewed with her presence at their home. Ethan feels tormented again with not being able to express his love for Mattie while at the same time chained to a dead marriage. This story takes place in the 19th Century in the cold winter New England States where people transport themselves from their homes and into town through horse drawn carriages and sleds. Wooden homes and isolated residences set the background for this story.

Love and passion are finally revealed as Ethan admits his feelings towards Mattie while at the same time he betrays his wife through infidelity. The climax of the story is when Ethan and Mattie try to escape the clutches of Ethan's wife by attempted to commit suicide by riding their horse drawn sled into a tree. Sadly, they survive the accident but are crippled for the rest of their lives only to be cared for by Ethan's wife.

I liked this fictional book as it shows about social interactions of relationships, unhappiness, infidelity, betrayal, and pain. I think readers who like 19th Century fiction dealing with relationships would enjoy this book. This is a story of love and infidelity. I enjoyed reading about it.