Ethan Frome

Ethan Frome (1911) by Edith Wharton is a framed narrative - a story within a story. Unlike the upper class characters in the rest of Wharton’s works, here they are ordinary townspeople. The story begins with an unnamed male narrator who describes a man with a limp and a striking demeanor. The story of Ethan, his sickly wife Zeena, and the caregiver Mattie then unfolds: Mattie helped to care for the infirm Zeena, but when Zeena noticed a spark of affection between her husband and Mattie, she demanded that the caregiver be dismissed. When the aforementioned narrator resumes, it emerges that Mattie was severely injured 20 years earlier in the accident which caused Ethan’s limp as well as a startling role reversal among the two women.

Public Domain (P)2021 Museum Audiobooks