Publication and Setting

Ethan Frome was published in 1911 by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton. It is set in turn-of-the-century New England in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts.

Plot and Themes

Ethan Frome is a man with dreams and desires that end in an ironic turn of events. The narrator tells the story based on an account from observations at Frome's house when he had to stay there during a winter storm. Ethan's character is one that comes full circle, moving from silent desire, to action, to quiet submission ordered by life's circumstances.