Wharton, Edith

Ethan Frome, a poor farmer in nineteenth-century Starkfield, Massachusetts, sets off a devastating chain of events when he falls in love with the vivacious Mattie, cousin of his sickly, demanding wife. Includes background information, an outline of key themes and plot points, explanatory notes, and other study aids.

Contains the story of Ethan Frome, a New England farmer who is married to a hypochondriac, but in love with his wife's lively cousin, Mattie; and includes the novella "The Touchstone, " and three additional short stories by Edith Wharton.

The tragic story of Ethan Frome, a New England farmer married to a hypochondriac and in love with his wife's lively cousin, Mattie.

Meet Ethan as a gnarled, taciturn old man, and find him a sad and tragic figure. His story, told in flashback by the narrator, is a compelling one--the inexorable fall of a decent, rough-hewn man, drawn on by his most pure and beautiful feelings: his love for the gentle Mattie.

A portrayal of New York society in the 1870s where money counted for less than manners and morals.

Newland Archer, a young lawyer in upper-crust 1870's New York, becomes a victim of social expectations and restrictions when he becomes infatuated with his docile fiancee's nonconformist cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska.

The tragic story of Ethan Frome, a New England farmer married to a hypochondriac and in love with his wife's lively cousin, Mattie.