Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton and published in 1911, is a tragic novel set in the bleak, snowbound town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. The story follows Ethan Frome, a poor farmer trapped in a loveless marriage with his hypochondriac wife, Zeena. When Zeena's young cousin, Mattie Silver, arrives to help with household duties, Ethan falls deeply in love with her. Faced with Mattie's impending departure, the desperate lovers attempt suicide by crashing their sled into a tree. The attempt fails, leaving Mattie paralyzed and Ethan crippled, condemned to live under the care of the very wife he sought to escape.
