Ethan Frome: Character Definitions and Plot Summary
Vocabulary Definitions
Anger: The feeling when you are angry.
Apart: Not together.
Beauty: Being beautiful.
Bitter: Angry and unhappy about something that has happened.
Buggy: A small, open car with four wheels, pulled by a horse.
Coasting: Riding down a snow-covered hill on a sled.
Complain: To say that you are not happy about something.
Cousin: The son or daughter of your aunt or uncle.
Despair: The feeling when you have lost all hope.
Difference: Being different.
Discontented: Not happy, not pleased.
Dish: A plate or bowl for holding food, fruit, etc.
Embarrassed: Feeling shy or uncomfortable; worrying about what other people will think.
Fault: When something bad or wrong happens because of what you have done, it is your fault.
Flow: To move like water.
Further: The opposite of “nearer”.
Glue: Something soft and sticky used to join things together.
Grave: A hole in the ground where a dead person’s body is put.
Gravestone: A stone on a grave, with the name, dates, etc., of the dead person.
Grim: Very serious-looking, unsmiling.
Hire: To pay to use something, or to use someone’s help.
Housekeeper: A person who takes care of someone’s home.
Jealous: Angry or sad because you are afraid of losing someone’s love or because you want what another person has.
Jug: A pot with a handle, for things like milk, water, etc.
Kiss: To touch someone with your lips in a loving way.
Lamp: Something that gives light.
Lined: Having long, thin marks on your face, like an old person.
Lively: Full of life.
Load: To put things (often large and heavy) into a car, ship, etc.
Mail: Post (letters, postcards, etc.).
Maybe: Perhaps.
Pond: A very small lake.
Poverty: Being very poor.
Rocking chair: A chair on rockers, which can be moved backwards and forwards by the person sitting in it.
Saw mill: A kind of small factory where trees and wood are cut.
Scarf: A piece of cloth to wear round the head or neck.
Science: The study of natural things in the world.
Sew: To join pieces of cloth together; to make or mend clothes.
Silence: Being silent.
Sled: A kind of small, open car without wheels, but with long pieces of metal or wood for moving over snow.
Sleigh: A large sled, pulled by a horse.
Slope: The side of a hill; a piece of ground that goes up or down.
Smart: Clever.
Spine: The long thin bone down the middle of your back.
Steep: Going up or down very quickly, e.g., a steep hill.
Tear: To pull something into pieces.
Thought: Something that you think.
Twisted: Pulled into a strange shape.
Warmth: A warm feeling.
Whine: To speak in a thin, high, complaining voice.
Whinny: To make the long high cry of a horse.
Ethan Frome: Plot Summary
Ethan Frome is a farmer in Massachusetts. He works long hours every day, but his farm makes very little money. His wife, Zeena, is a thin, grey woman, always complaining and only interested in her own ill health. Mattie Silver, a young cousin, comes to live with the Fromes to help Zeena and do the housework. Her bright smile and laughing voice bring light and hope into the Frome’s house and into Ethan’s lonely life.
Character Descriptions
Ethan Frome: He was a noticeable figure. His tall, strong body was badly twisted, and shorter on the right side than on the left. He had been like that since his bad accident. He was 52 years old.
Harmon Gow: A man who knew all the families around Starkfield.
Denis Eady: The son of Starkfield’s most successful shopkeeper.
Zeena: Ethan’s wife, she helped with the housework. She was a cold, silent woman who noticed everything but said very little. Her only real interest was her own ill health.
Mattie: She lived with the Fromes in their lonely farmhouse and helped Zeena with the housework. She has a sweet smile.