The Story Begins
The novel, Ethan Frome, begins with a statement from the narrator who reveals that the story was told to him in bits from various people who told it differently each time. The story is set in Starkfield, Massachusetts, a small rural New England town whose name reflects its sluggish and bleak nature. The narrator recounts the first time she saw Ethan Frome, the "most striking figure in Starkfield" who is not striking because he is handsome, but because of the air of ruin that surrounds him. At that time a man of fifty-two years of age, he seems much older. One member of the community, Harmon Gow, tells the narrator that Frome had an accident twenty-four years ago that left the right side of his body considerably damaged. Everyday, Frome goes to the post office about noon, receiving little in the mail except the newspaper, but every once in a while he gets a letter addressed to Mrs. Zenobia, or Mrs. Zeena. Harmon tells the narrator that the accident which caused Ethan's current physical condition was very severe, but Ethan was a tough man and strong enough to live on. Harmon also tells him that Ethan had to stay in town, where most of the smarter people born there end up leaving, because he had to take care of his family, specifically, his father, mother, and wife.
The narrator is in town because of a strike at the company he works for in Corbury Junction has caused delays. Starkfield is the nearest habitable town so he had taken up lodgings with a widow named Mrs. Ned Hale. One day the narrator is need of ride to Corbury Flats where he is to catch a train to the Junction. When the horses on which he usually depends fall sick, Harmon suggests that Ethan, a poor man always in need of a little money, might be able to give the narrator a ride. The narrator is surprised to find out just how poor Frome really is, and Harmon explains that what little money that comes from his family's saw-mill and farm goes into care for his family. The next day, Ethan drives the narrator over to Corbury Flats and back again in the evening; he continues to do so everyday for a week. Through their conversations, the narrator slowly finds out that Frome has an interest in science, which surprises him. The narrator offers to lend him a book on some new discoveries in a particular field of research, and Frome accepts. More and more, Frome strikes the narrator as one who has much more to him than his outer appearance would suggest, but since Frome is so reserved, the narrator learns very little and can only speculate.
On one particularly snowy day, Frome comes to pick up the narrator and heads in a way opposite from the usual route. Frome tells him that the snow will delay the train so that it is best to just go directly to the Junction. The narrator is surprised by his generosity. On the way there, they pass Frome's house, and Frome tells the narrator about the time before the railroad when the road used to carry numerous travelers by his home. His mother used to look out the window at the passersby on the road, but the coming of the railroad changed all that. That evening on the way home, the storm starts up again, making it difficult to return to Starkfield. When they see Frome's gate, they decide to stop there at his house for the night. The narrator follows him to the house and enters, hearing the drone of a woman's voice. The section ends as follows: "It was that night that I found the clue to Ethan Frome, and began to put together this vision of his story." Partner sites: Bulldog, Study Spanish in Mexico, and The Great Gatsby