POST: Key Quote from Ethan Frome

“Seen thus, from the pure and frosty darkness in which he stood, it seemed to be seething in a mist of heat.” (Ch. 1)

This quote really sets up the harshness of the novel. The reader can already tell from this line that the novel is going to be cold and depressing. The connection between the setting and the mood of the entire novel is important. Words like “frosty darkness” and “seething” really put the reader into a dark mood.

“He used to think that fifty years sounded like along time to live together, but now it seemed to him that they might pass in a flash. Then, with a sudden dart of irony, he wondered if, when their turn came, the same epitaph would be written over him and Zeena.” (page 69)

The image of Ethan looking at a gravestone bearing his own name is both creepy and morbid. As he stares at his ancestor’s gravestone, Ethan begins to think of his future with Zeena. This is foreshadowing the breakdown of the relationship between Ethan and his wife later in the novel. By the end of the novel Zeena’s presence brings nothing but grief and remorse.

"Ethan stood looking at her, his heart in his throat. He wanted to say: "We shall never be alone again like this." page 42

This line is so tragic and depressing, because readers know how much Ethan cares for Mattie. This line also carries a lot of weight because readers can appreciate how much Ethan wants to be with her, but it is hard for contemporary audiences to really understand the impossibilities of his situation because today's society is not so rigid. Readers are screaming to Ethan to just be with Mattie and forget Zeena, but the time and place in which he lives in makes this not an option. In just a couple short sentences, Wharton is able to create a depressing and heart-wrenching mood.

“He passed by the graves on the knoll and turned his head to glance at one of the older headstones, which has interested him deeply as a boy because it bore his name:

SCARED TO THE MEMORY OF ETHAN FROME AND ENDURANCE HIS WIFE WHO DWELLED TOGETHER IN PEACE FOR FIFTY YEARS”(33).

This quote is really interesting because it brings back memories to Ethan Frome as a kid, just because the headstone has his name on it. Along side his name being on the headstone it also states fifty years, at the time believing that it was a long time. But it also sums up the type of marriage he has with his wife.

"I don't see's there's much difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down at the graveyard; 'cept that down there they're all quiet, and the women have got to hold their tongues" (77).

As seen by the neighbors at the end of the novel, the Fromes were as good as dead the way that they were living. Though Zeena had miraculously gained back her health, Zeena and Mattie still were crippled and in turn their attitudes soured up. In addition to the already dreary household mood, Zeena and Mattie constantly argued with each other. The Frome house was always cold and moody, leading people around them to wonder their reasons for continuing to live together.

"His wife had never shown any jealousy of Mattie, but of late she had grumbled increasingly over the house-work and found oblique ways of attracting attention to the girl's inefficiency."(page15)
This quote foreshadows that Zeena is about to rid of Mattie, and that Zeena suspects a little spark in their Edith and Mattie's relationship. Though she never shows jealousy, she definitely feels it.

" 'The coast. Right off', She panted. 'So 't we'll never come up any more' " (136)
The moment is the climax of the story, the high point of their love. The idea that they should die together is beautiful and heartbreaking. It also cast a foreboding shadow, since we have already known that Ethan Frome did not die. We can't help but wounder what happen to Mattie.

“About a mile farther, on a road I had never traveled, we came to an orchard of starved apple-trees writhing over a hillside among outcroppings of slate that nuzzled up through the snow like animals pushing out their noses to breathe. Beyond the orchard lay a field or two, their boundaries lost under drifts; and above the fields, huddles against the white immensities of land and sky…”(7).

What I find amazing about Wharton is the way he is able to give descriptions that are mind-blowing. I particularly liked the way he portrayed the cold winter season and the landscape. The awesome description the narrator has of the landscape attracted me as a reader because it was unique. For example when he stated, “…nuzzled up through the snow like animals pushing out their noses to breathe.”

"There was something bleak and unapproachable in his face, and he was so stiffened and grizzled that i took him for an old man and was surprised to hear that he was not more than fifty-two"

this qoute really set the tone to the face of ethan. i you wondered about what he looked like this qoute can describe a lot of it. He looked so old from the smash up but was actually really young.

"But their evening together had given him a vision of what life at her side might be, and he was glad now that he had done nothing to trouble the sweetness of the picture. He had a fancy that she knew what had restrained him." (pg 42)

This is the morning following Mattie and Ethans first evening together. You can see that he now pictures himself with mattie in his future. It is at this moment, although they never touch, that he realizes how deeply he cares for her and how happy she makes him, and he hopes she feels the same.

"Through the obscurity which hid their faces like their thoughts seemed to dart at each other like sepents shooting venom. Ethan was seized with horror of the scene and shame at his own share in it. It was as senseless and savage as a physical fight between two enemies in the darkness" (94).

This is right after Zeena tells Ethan that she has hired a girl to come look after her in order to regain her health. Zeena tells Ethan that it was his fault she losty her health beause she was looking after his mother, and that even her parents said the least he could do was marry her. At this point Zeena is angry at Ethan because she believes that he is being under appreciative and inconsiderate. What this most reveals about Zeena's character is her own insensitivity and indictiveness most demonstrated by how she refers to their marraige. Zeena refers to their marraige as a business transaction. She took care of Ethan's mother in exchange for their marriage which was not built on love or even a strong companionship. Their union was nothing more than a means for Zeena to finally marry a respectable man as was expected of women in that time. Because of the lack of love in their relationship Ethan and Zeena have many disagreements which usually leave Zeena as the victor. Clearly their marraige was an unhealthy relationship, and all their problems could have easily been predicted from the way it all began.

"Against the dark background of the kitchen she stood up tall and angular, one hand drawing a quilted counterpane to her flat breast, while the other held a lamp. The light, on a level with her chin, drew out of the darkness her puckered throat and the projecting wrist of the hand that clutched the quilt, and deepened fantastically the hollows and prominences of her high-boned face under its rings of crimping-pins."

This is the first quote where Zeena is described with so many unflattering words that it is hard not to dislike her. The portrayal of Zeena is from Ethan’s point of view, so it is obvious he does not find her attractive. It is apparent she is sick and almost like she is withering away. This quote illustrates her being too thin, old, and completely unappealing.

"IT was there that, several years ago, I saw him for the first time; and the sight pulled me up sharp. Even then he was the most striking figure in Starkfield, though he was but the ruin of a man."

The introduction to Ethan Frome creates a mystery about him and made me want to learn more about him. I thought it was strange that the most striking figure in the town was a battered old man. The opening is very effective because it motivated me to find out Frome's story.

"As she passed down the line, her light figure swinging from hand to hand in circles of increasing swiftness, the scarf flew off her head and stood out behind her shoulders , and Frome, at each turn, caught sight of her laughing panting lips, the cloud of dark hair about her forehead , and dark eyes which seemed the only fixed points in the maze of flying lines." (13)

i chose this quote because it was the first time Wharton hints Frome's interest in Mattie. The author makes Frome's perception of Mattie to be very gentle and beautiful using diction such as "light figure", and "circles of increasing swiftness." Words such as lips, dark hair, and dark eyes further demonstrate Frome's interest in Mattie.

"He knew that most young men made nothing at all of giving a pretty girl a kiss, and he remembered that the night before, when he had put his arm about Mattie, she had not resisted. But that had been out-of-doors, under the open irresponsible night. Now, in the warm lamplit room, with all its ancient implications of conformity and order, she seemed infinitely farther away from him and more unapproachable."

I really liked this quote because i felt like it sumed up Ethans mindset during the middle of the novel. I also felt like it like it represented one of the themes of the novel, which is the conflict between personal desires and societal standards.

"I don't see's there's much difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down at the graveyard, 'cept that down there they're all quiet, and the women have got to hold their tongues." p77

I love this line, the last one of the book. It perfectly describes what has become of Ethan's 'family.' It is clear that the characters are just the hollow shell of what they once were, more a part of the landscape than the life within it.

" The small ray of Frome's lantern was soon lost in this smothering medium, in which even his sense of direction, and the bay's homing instinct, finally ceased to serve us. Two or three times some ghostly landmark sprang up to warn us that we were astray, and then was sucked back into the mist; and when we finally regained our road old horse began to show signs of exhaustion." Page 9

I thought this quote was great for setting the overall feel of the book. The beginning of the book is just as cold, and dreary as the flashback, which I really like. I think that by doing this, the reader gets the endless winter feeling that each of the characters in the flashback have.

"I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story".

This quote made the story that much more real to me. I can personally relate having gone through the same process of trying to figure out a story from different people. It also set the story up to be full of juciey gossip and rumors.

"She was there, then, close to him, only a thin board between. In another moment she would step forth into the night, and his eyes, accustomed to the obscurity, would discern her as clearly as though she stood in the daylight. A wave of shyness pulled himback into the dark angle of teh waall, and he stood there in silence instead of making his presence known to her." page 17

Frome seems to be very shy and insecure about himself. He is aware about who he is and how he is regarded by many people around town, and seems to have lost any sort of self confidence. When I first read this, I became even more curious as to how he looked like and I tried to visualize in my head a picture. Many readers can also relate to this situation because of the feeling one gets when they are put in a similar situation. Such as when a guy sees someone very attractive but because they have a distorted self image, all they can do is coward away in the corner.

"He passed by the graves on the knoll and turned his head to glance at one of the older headstones, which had interested him deeply as a boy because it bore his name: sacred to the memory of Ethan Frome and endurance his wife who dwelled together in peace for fifty years" (33) Within the novel death is constantly brought up and here is a grave with his name on it! personally i would never find a grave with my name on it "interesting". What i did find interesting was the wife's name on the gravestone is Endurance which in a way symbolizes Zeena.

"The stillness was so profound that he heard a little animal twittering somewhere near by under the snow...and now it was as though he felt rather than heard the twittering...and all at once he knew that the soft thing he had touched was Mattie's hair and that his hand was on her face" (73).

I feel that this quote captures the fear and confusion that Ethan and Mattie feel after their sledding incident, and that Edith Wharton successfully establishes an extremely emotional moment between the two characters as they lie next to each other, near death. Personally, it is the most powerful moment of the entire novel.

This is my quote:
"He knew that most young men made nothing at all of giving a pretty girl a kiss, and he remembered that the night before, when he had put his arm about Mattie, she had not resisted. But ... now, in the warm lamplit room, with all its ancient implications of conformity and order, she seemed infinitely farther away from him and more unapproachable."

This quote is important because it displays the desire that ethan frome has for mattie but in addition to this it shows the difficulties that face the two lovers. When they are carefree and about they seem to give into their desires but when reality hits and they resist. Here Ethan argues that giving Mattie a kiss was not really wrong beacuse giving a pretty girl a kiss is accepted. But for these two it's not that simple and that fact is what keeps them at a distance and makes Mattie an unreachable figure for Ethan.

"There was one day, about a week after the accident, when they all thought Mattie couldn’t live. Well, I say it’s a pity she did...I don’t see’s there’s much difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down in the graveyard"

After the accident the Fromes were forced to spend there days taking care of Mattie who was very sick and was never to get fully better. This ruined any life that the Fromes had left to live together and is why they always kept to themselves. Ethan had a hard enough time dealing with his sick wife, but now he had the injured and sick Mattie to take care of as well and it was just too much to handle. As Mrs. Hale see's it, Ethan would has met a worse fate than just dying in the accident.

"I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story"

This was also my favorite quote as well, as one can draw such a variety of interpretations from this passage. When an author expresses an idea such as this, it is to involve the read more fully by causing him to think more about what he is reading, to make his mind work more than ususal. And this surely is no ordinary novel.

"The girl seemed to waver, and Frome saw her twirl the end of her scarf irresolutely about her fingers. Not for the world would he have made a sign to her, though it seemed to him that his life hung on her next gesture. "

I know exactly how he feels.