What clues do the contents of Ethans typical mail delivery suggest

what clues do the contents of Ethan’s typical mail delivery suggest? Ethan receives mail addressed to a woman- presumably his wife- and bears the return address of various “patent medicine” producers, indicating that the woman might be chronically ill.

When Ethan and Mattie arrive at home they Cannot find?

Approaching the farmhouse, Ethan is reassured that Mattie will not marry Eady. He walks arm in arm with her and when she stumbles, uses the opportunity to put his arm around her. When they reach the back door, they cannot find the door key that Zeena always leaves for them.

Why did Ethan want to leave Starkfield?

After his mother died, Ethan dreaded being alone again on the farm, so he asked Zeena to marry him. They both wanted to leave Starkfield for larger towns where Ethan could learn more about engineering, but they could not sell the farm and the mill as quickly as they hoped.

Why does Ethan tell Zeena that he has to collect cash for the lumber from Hale?

Why does Ethan regret telling Zeena he has to collect cash for the lumber? It was untrue, and he let Zeena believe he was about to get money before one of her therapeutic excursions.

Why is Ethan in a hurry to get to the village?

It was long past the dinner-hour when the job was done, and Ethan had to give up going to the village because he wanted to lead the injured horse home and wash the cut himself.

What initially prevented Ethan and Zeena from moving away from Starkfield?

The couple wanted to move away from Starkfield, but Ethan couldn’t find a buyer for the farm and mill and he realized that Zeena needed to stay in Starkfield where she was well known (if only for being “sickly”). Zeena soon became silent also and communication between the couple came to a halt.

What significant things does Ethan see on the way home from asking for the fifty dollar advance?

On the way home, Ethan passes the Frome graveyard again and sees the headstone of his namesake, another Ethan Frome, and his wife, named Endurance. The inscription on their headstone reads: “Dwelled Together in Peace for Fifty Years.” He wonders if his own headstone with Zeena will bear the same words.

What does Mattie's note to Ethan say?

It said, “Don’t trouble, Ethan.” This was his first note ever from Mattie. The note makes him feel closer to her. Wrestling with his mind, Ethan decides he can have happiness.

Why does Ethan tell Zeena that he has to deliver the lumber himself rather than drive her to the flats?

Why does Ethan tell Zeena that he has to deliver the lumber himself, rather than drive her to the Flats? Because he has to “collect the cash for the lumber”, which was a lie only so he doesn’t have to be with her.

What is Ethan's plan involving Andrew Hale?

Frantically searching for a solution, Ethan decides again to ask Andrew Hale for the advance on the lumber, feeling that Hale would relent if he thought that the money would make a difference in Zeena’s health. With the money, Ethan decides, he will be able to run away with Mattie and start a new life elsewhere.

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What happened Mattie Silver?

As a result of the accident, Mattie is paralyzed from the neck down. At the time of the Epilogue, she has lived with the Fromes and been cared for by Zeena for over twenty years. Mattie has become querulous, whining, and petulant.

How does Ethan find some glue?

In town, after unloading the lumber, Ethan heads to the Eady store in search of some glue to fix Zeena’s broken dish, but he can’t find any there. Ethan then hastily goes to the widow Homan’s store, where, after a lengthy search, he finally finds a single bottle of glue.

What is the relationship between Ethan and Zeena's ages?

Zeena is seven years older than Ethan. She married Ethan, at the age of 28 (seven years earlier), after the death of his mother.

How is the narrator like Ethan Frome?

He’s an educated, upper-middle-class man who happens to become fascinated by the figure of Ethan Frome, 24 years after the tragic sled ride. Luckily for us, the narrator is a kind of a nosey guy. He feels completely comfortable going around asking everybody he sees to tell him Ethan’s story.

What ironic thought strikes Ethan after he sees the headstone commemorating the fifty year marriage of another Ethan Frome and his wife endurance?

As he stares at the gravestone, which memorializes the lives and fifty-year marriage of ethan frome and endurance his wife, Ethan believes his own fate is spelled out before him.

What does Zeena want Ethan to do before the new girl is set to arrive?

What other reason might Zeena not want Ethan to drive Mattie to the train? She wants Ethan to fix the new girl’s room. Another reason might be that she knows about Mattie and Ethan’s love and wants to keep them away.

What object does Ethan find on the sofa and what does he do with it?

The note was the only note Mattie had ever written him, and in a way, it is the first real sign of communication of her affection for him. Ethan lays down on the sofa and feels something poking his cheek. He realizes it is a cushion Zeena made for him and he throws it across the room.

What does the narrator learn about Ethan during their daily rides?

the narrator learns that Frome likes books and knows how to read a little, also that Frome is mad at himself for his own ignorance. He also learned that Frome is punctual, quiet, and lonely.

What do the gravestones in Chapter 2 represent?

The gravestones are for Ethan’s dead family. For many generations, the family has lived and died in that house, and Ethan is expected to do the same.

Why did Ethan take the narrator to the Junction 10 miles away?

On the day of the storm, the train to the junction cannot get through, so Ethan volunteers to take the narrator all the way (ten miles) to the junction. … Ethan attributes his mother’s worsening to the new train that was built. As Ethan and the narrator enter the house, how does the narrator describe the voice he hears?

What fact about Ethan Frome intrigues the narrator?

They provide The Narrator with bits and pieces of information about Ethan, which make him even more intrigued with the story of Ethan’s life. … During his unexpected stay with Ethan, The Narrator is able to glean information about Ethan’s life. As a young man, Ethan Frome wanted to become an engineer.

What is the main theme of Ethan Frome?

Major themes in Ethan Frome include silence, isolation, illusion, and the consequences that are the result of living according to the rules of society. Wharton relies on personal experiences to relate her thematic messages.

When she returned what did Zeena tell Ethan about her sickness?

Zeena tells Ethan that the doctor told her that if she doesn’t stop working so hard she will die. Appalled, Ethan almost blurts out what he thinks of that idea. Instead, he checks himself and promises to do the extra work himself, and she can be free of all such duties.

Which phrase from Ethan Frome creates a simile?

Chapter II A “rill” is a small stream. Ethan uses the image of a thawing stream after a cold winter as a simile (a comparison using the words “like” or “as”) to describe the feeling he gets when he and Mattie are together.

What is the occupation of the narrator in Ethan Frome?

The Narrator An engineer working on a job at the power-house at Corbury Junction. He rents a room in Starkfield from Mrs. Ned Hale, and hires Ethan Frome to transport him to and from the train station. The Narrator relates the “frame story” (the prologue and epilogue).

What happened between Ethan and Mattie at the church picnic?

Ethan stops the sleigh in a pine wood and helps Mattie down. As they walk together through the wintry landscape, they remember their encounter of the previous summer at a church picnic on this very spot, where Ethan found a lost gold locket of Mattie’s.

What decision does Ethan make about the train?

What decision does he make about the train? His decision is that he will take her to the train. As Ethan writes his note to Zeena, what depression realization comes to him? Ethan realizes that he cannot stand on his own financially if he moves to the west along with a dependent: Mattie.

What is ironic about Ethan Frome?

One of the ironies was when Ethan repeatedly saw Zeena’s face in the rocking chair while coasting; this instance is ironic because of how Ethan is deliberately coasting with Mattie to avoid Zeena, yet her face appears in front of him, demonstrating how he could never leave his stark reality in Starkfield.

What plans has Ethan and Zeena?

Ethan thinks that if his mother had died in summer or spring instead of the desolate winter, he probably would never have gotten himself in the mess (i.e., he never would have married Zeena). Zeena had agreed to move away from Starkfield with Ethan. The initial plan was to sell the farm and mill and move to a city.

How does Ethan explain the broken pickle dish to Zeena?

The pickle dish is red, which can show desire, love, seduction, and passion. The breaking of the pickle dish represents the disintegration of Zeena and Ethan’s marriage, as well as Ethan and Mattie’s relationship. Zeena never used the pickle dish- this could represent her lack of effort in her marriage. …

How does Ethan reveal that his feelings toward Mattie are ambivalent?

The fact that he had no right to show his feelings, and thus provoke the expression of hers, made him attach a fantastic importance to every change in her look and tone. Therefore, that “alteration of mood” is what shows his ambivalence regarding his feelings.