fidelity, jealousy, class system, and the condition ofwomen in society over which they had little control. Ethan Frome was a stark tale aboutthe ordinary lives of an isolated, rural people living in the harsh New England countryside(DeCecco, p.3). While Ethan Frome, the stark New England tragedy, is possibly herbest-known work, it is the least typical of her art (Erlich, p.1).Literary CriticismEthan Frome is widely seen as the best and most popular novel of Edith Whartonwhile also being the most different from her others. It is a tragic tale of two lovers, Ethanand Mattie, who never are able to spend their lives together despite their efforts. Zeena,Ethans dictatorial and authoritarian wife, stands in their way throughout the entire novel. Mattie was the woman he wanted and Zeena was the woman he needed (Bjorkman,p.550). Critic Gore Vidal agrees with the common conception of Wharton as a stuffy,Grande dame whose work is analogous to that of Henry James. Vidal believes that shestands outside of the world that she describes in Ethan Frome, but is still able toconvincingly describe a bleak, New England town and its people. He refers to the firstfew pages of the novel as a prime example of Whartons wonderful descriptions thatproduce a perfect image of Starkfield and Ethan in the readers head. Critic ElizabethAmmons agrees with Vidal in saying that the mood is dark and pessimistic in the town ofStarkfield. At the time when Wharton wrote Ethan Frome, she was under the influence ofFrench realists, but still pays homage to American classics. Several critics including Vidaland Ammons compare Ethan Frome to one of Nathaniel Hawthornes novels, TheBlithdale Romance. The two books both take place in the same New England territoryand Wharton named Zenobia after a heroine of Hawthornes novel.Most critics agree that love is the key subject and verdict of Ethan Frome. It isboth simple and harsh; complex, but not subtle (Ammons, p.495). A...
