The dynamic between Frome and Zeena is a chilling one, and its one that no doubt deserves some dissection by someone whos more pyschoanalytically inclined than I am. Fromes life has been one of expectation and obligation, and he has spent the better part of his youth caring first for his mother, and subsequently for his wife Zeena, whom he takes in out of a sense of duty. Some twenty years ago Frome was a strong, able-bodied man, although emotionally he has never been in especially good shape. Inclement weather forces them to return to Fromes home, where the stranger speculates on Fromes downfall, after which point the novel takes us back to the events that culminate in Fromes disfigurementa disfigurement that certainly seems to be a sort of moral or karmic retribution. The book opens with an unnamed narrator hiring a crippled husk of a manEthan Fromeas his driver during his stay in town. Wharton takes a circular approach to her narrative, using the flashback framing device popular when the book was written to explicitly contrast the then and the now. Its less a recount of something that has happened than one of what might or could neverhave happened. I would, however, suggest supplementing your literary journey with a hot chocolate or something similarly comforting.Įthan Frome is a challengingly bleak novel that slowly, quietly forces itself upon the unsuspecting readers psyche. If youre after a read thats relentlessly desultory but that is, despite its inherent emo-ness, worthy of your emotional investment, then pick up a copy of this book, and read it straight through. Despite having finished Ethan Frome a good fortnight or so ago now, Im still haunted by this book, and suspect that I will be for a long time to come.
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