This is the 2nd time I licensed / read Ethan Frome, it was required reading for me in HSPA. And I did not understand the purpose. I think I understand better now. Or stalwart on this reading I'm getting a certain interpretation.
I think the blue-blooded , hypochondriac dominatrix Zeena has meuncher's syndrome. She is put our and threatened by her pauper cousin Mattie, and this hatred is in conjunction with being married to Ethan, both keeping her from her preferred elitist lifestyle. Unsure if Zeena knew, or suspected Ethan and Mattie's adultery. If she did not , she achieved the same goal of punishing both of them by sending Mattie away.
Yet, though its a tragedy that both Ethan and Mattie lived, it is also a fitting revenge best served cold on Zeena. It's also tragic how sweet lovable and admirable Mattie, switched personalities with Zeena.

Ethan Frome
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Edith Wharton (1862-1937), born Edith Newbold Jones, was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer. She combined her insider's view of America's privileged classes with a brilliant, natural wit to write humourous and incisive novels and short stories. Wharton was well-acquainted with many of her era's literary and public figures, including Henry James and Theodore Roosevelt. Besides her writing, she was a highly regarded landscape architect, interior designer, and taste-maker of her time. She wrote several influential books, including The Decoration of Houses (1897), her first published work, and Italian Villas and Their Gardens (1904). The Age of Innocence (1920), perhaps her best known work, won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for literature, making her the first woman to win the award. Her other works include: The Greater Inclination (1899), The Touchstone (1900), Sanctuary (1903), The Descent of Man, and Other Stories (1904), The House of Mirth (1905), Madame De Treymes (1907), The Fruit of the Tree (1907), The Hermit and the Wild Woman, and Other Stories (1908), Ethan Frome (1912), In Morocco (1921), and The Glimpses of the Moon (1921).
Public Domain (P)1988 Jimcin Recordings
- Listening Length3 hours and 47 minutes
- Audible release dateJuly 15, 2008
- LanguageEnglish
- ASINB001CRSPJI
- VersionUnabridged
- Program TypeAudiobook
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Product details
Listening Length | 3 hours and 47 minutes |
---|---|
Author | Edith Wharton |
Narrator | Jim Killavey |
Whispersync for Voice | Ready |
Audible.com Release Date | July 15, 2008 |
Publisher | Jimcin Recordings |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B001CRSPJI |
Best Sellers Rank | #36,249 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #958 in Classic Literature (Audible Books & Originals) #3,913 in Classic Literature & Fiction #8,641 in Literary Fiction (Books) |
Customer reviews
4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
927 global ratings
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Very intense, thought provoking, real life struggles,...a classic
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2017
My 5 star rating is based on the novel and not the publisher. The book I read is not showing on Amazon but I found to be excellent. I truly feel any book is fine. Simply read for the story and ignore the typos or font. Delve into their lives and you won't notice anything else once you are entranced with their struggles in life!The ongoing tragedy that unveils in the story, the unbelievable depth of characters, the foreshadowing in the book, the ability to illicit empathy for all of the characters and bounce between and understand Ethan's conundrum in life, and so much more definitely qualifies this book as a classic in literature. This is and will forever be a timeless piece of art in writing. It's not about when it was written but rather a story everyone can envision something similar happening in life. Very well written and thought provoking. An excellent read I recommend.
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2017
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Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2018
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5 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2021
A novel written at the beginning of last century about a man seen every day in town, looking defeated, discouraged, and with no zest for life. Nobody wants to talk about him, and only mention is made that his life is a tragedy. Finally, facts unfold and we discover that Ethan was married to a dominating woman, Zeeda, and fell in love with Mattie, a relative of Zeeda's who went to live with them to help her because "she could do nothing". The decisions made by each of these 3 characters will play a significant role in this tragedy. It is a tragic romantic story, and although it is so depressing, I enjoyed it because it is very well written.
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2021
I bought this book because of a chapter in Karen Swallow Prior's On Reading Well. That enticed me to read the book and I wasn't disappointed. Except for the introduction, that is. You won't lose anything by skipping it. If I had read only the introduction before reading the novel, I probably wouldn't have read it. I enjoyed being a reader, but the introduction would have me be a critic instead. You could read the story in an afternoon, but don't: take your time and savor it. Enjoy the story, even though it is a tragedy; I think the introduction will ruin your reading enjoyment. Like all Penguin books, this one was well-made, easy to read, and has a comfortable typeface.
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2019
I bought this book for a selection our book club is reading this month. I could have bought other editions, and even downloaded one for free, but I really appreciate how OWC editions are published. The timelines are excellent, as are the notes and introductions. As for the book itself, I really liked its structure, from an interesting prologue to a surprising epilogue. Please do not first read these two chapters of the novella, because Wharton's development of the story really takes the reader in and makes the surprise at the end very gripping. Despite being a very sad book, I found it to be very well written.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2022
It's hard to believe that this book was written in 1911. The prose is crisp and descriptive and can easily be understood by and related to by a modern audience. I'm really glad I gave it a chance !
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2018
I did not like this book in high school. I can now safely say I don't like it as an adult either. Ethan Frome is a cautionary tale - there are too many warnings here to count depending on your perspective. But it's a story told at you, not one you live alongside the characters. I didn't find myself siding with anyone, because they were not likable people. Everyone is miserable. It is not enjoyable at all, this story about struggle, love, loss, and survival.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2022
It kept me reading straight through. I can't help but wonder if Ethan wasn't so stricken to speak his mind and do what he wanted.
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2015
Because of the depth of the characters, I found myself reading the book more than once. I experienced sorrow, sadness, and anger as I read. I really liked Ethan because he was shy like me. I wanted him to assert himself more, but I understood that his unwillingness to do anything that would jeopardize his wife's hypochondriacal nature made him a better man than most. I don't know how Ms. Wharton managed to pack such emotional intensity in the relationship between Ethan and the other characters when there was so little dialog, but it was a viceral thing that I couldn't deny. The ending was totally unexpected. It's a classic that many read in American Literature classes and for good reasons. I'll probably read it again five years from now.
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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars
Les Miserables
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2018
Ethan Frome, a mild mannered yet weak willed young man, trudges through his days in a haze of hopelessness; trapped in a lifeless union with a mean and sinister hypochondriac, and committed to a lifetime of pointless drudgery, his work being barely above the breadline. Yet he continues to allow his wife her expensive foibles and medicinal remedies, instead of playing her at her own game. By nature, far from being a confrontational person, his fear and cowardice thwart his every move. And family illnesses put paid to any ambitions of study he may have nursed while still possible. His spirit, long since broken comes to life in the form of Mattie, the only silver lining in a storm of ever blackening clouds. Though her banishment from the house was only the beginning of his inevitable nightmare. A stronger minded alpha male would have given short shrift to the likes of Zeena and her manipulative schemes, and left her in the hands of her large family for a while, and find his fortune elsewhere. Young and strong, he had the world at his feet. His kindness and generosity though is demonstrated in the frequent demonstrations of affection for his colleagues and the faithful horses who shared the cruel and unendurable Starkfield winters. Years of bland frustration, emotional turmoil wrapped up in rage and buried deep, eventually burst forth in his misguided adoration of Mattie, herself a victim of sad circumstances. Together their unfortunate plan of escape proved the opposite, and as fate would have it...
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James Richards
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tragic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2018
This was just... Incredibly sad to read.
Truly a tragedy.
So much resentment and love. This stirred up all sorts of emotions.
Incredible. Well worth reading.
Truly a tragedy.
So much resentment and love. This stirred up all sorts of emotions.
Incredible. Well worth reading.

Thomas Christopher Shields
3.0 out of 5 stars
Book relating the morals of its time
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 27, 2019
Characters trapped by financial circumstances and the ethics of their society. Genteel drama. Anti climactic ending SPOILER ALERT. Modern day would've seen a murder thrown in instead of attempted joint suicide.

Irene Chenery
5.0 out of 5 stars
Edith Wharton book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 22, 2013
Book was recommended to a book club. Really enjoyed the descriptive passages. Ethan was a gentleman with a lonely life.

lo
3.0 out of 5 stars
Three Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 24, 2015
classic story