lameness checking each step like the jerk of a chain, there was something bleak and unapproachable in his face, and he was so stiffened and grizzled...” (Wharton IIII) Wharton is very precise and to the point. Technique is a key element in the novel, as Wharton started off in first person describing her interests in Ethan Frome. While in first person Wharton shows curiosity along with interest. This soon led to third person when someone begins to tell her the story of Ethan. Now all of Whartons’s bits of the story are coming into place. The story ends up in first person, where situation irony takes place. The novel was developed with Ethan & Mattie as the ones who take care of Zeena. This changes when Mattie & Ethan decide to end their lives by crashing a sled. Instead, they are both left crippled for life. By the end of the story, the original roles have changed. Ethan is deformed and Mattie is now the helpless invalid. Caring for them both and presiding over their wrecked lives, is Zeena. Wharton develops pathos in her work by making the reader feel sympathy for Ethan, because of his “smash-up” and for Zeena because Ethan puts his responsibility towards her aside for a while to concentrate on more on Mattie. Ultimately, the reader also fells pity on Matte, because like Ethan, she too was involved in the “smash-up” and ends up wretched and sour. Overall, Wharton sends a great impact through her work to the reader, by her use of incredible technique. Wharton gives the reader a chance to experience the life of Ethan Frome by basically painting the picture of his life. Before the story of Ethan Frome is actually told, the narrator elaborates in first person about her involvement with Ethan and the stories behind him. This helps to give a brief overview on what is coming up. When the story actually begins, the narrator gives an informative background on the characters, their role, and involvement in Eth...
