In Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, setting is an important element. The setting greatly influences the characters, transportation, and activities. The setting takes place in a small town called “Starkfield”. Starkfield is a town that is just like its name, it is boring, barren, severe, and harsh. Starkfield is known for its many harsh winters that leave the inhabitants bitter and in harsh condition. Starkfield is a village that lays “under a sheet of snow perpetually renewed from the pale skies” (pg. 0). By the time the snow is gone and things are well it snows again. Not only is the snow harsh but it acts as a barrier to many of the residents keeping them stuck in the harsh climate. As the snow keeps many people prisoner it is most likely known for keeping the Frome’s stuck in Starkfield. Ethan is stuck in Starkfield with the family farm, since it is winter all the time his farm will not sell and there is little money to get him by. The setting effects all of the characters in many different ways.
The Frome’s house with it broken “L”, shows that Ethan is exposed to the grim society of Starkfield, which comes back to Ethan’s broken life and torn relationship with Zeena. Ethan is effected in many ways and aspects by the setting. Ethan is “ in Starkfield too many winters. ”( pg. 10) This ends up being like a jail and Ethan Frome is being trapped in and cannot get out. Zeena Frome in particular is one other inhabitant who is greatly affected by the Starkfield winters. Zeena’s health is in terrible condition and is also one of the barriers keeping Ethan entombed in Starkfield.
Zeena is constantly looking for “expensive remedies” (pg 25) to cure her sickness but nothing seems to work for her. So as the Starkfield winters get more atrocious Zeena gets more bitter. As Zeena gets more bitter and Ethan is stuck in Starkfield there relationship starts to grow apart. Without the death of Ethan’s father he would have never quit his schooling to come back and help on the family farm. Then without the illness and the subsequence death of his mother Ethan would never have married Zeena out of loneliness instead of marrying for true love.
Transportation is effected in many ways in this novel. Since stark field is a small town away from the cities it is a little distance to the Corbury flats for the daily transportation and communication. Not very long after the narrator arrives in Starkfield, the horses at the local stable fall sick do to the terrible weather. Since the horses are sick Denis Eady can not drive the narrator to Corbury flats. This causes the narrator to look somewhere else fro his daily transportation.
Also when the heavy perpetual snow falls on Corbury flat the railroad closes down because the trains will become blocked and trapped by the snow. The snow acts and becomes a barrier on transportation making it hard and only allowing horse and buggy transportation. Since they have to use horse and buggy transportation it takes longer and they have to leave early for town. This makes the trip to town long and a arduous journey. Also making a barrier on communication between the Flats and Ethan’s home town of Starkfield.
Because of the setting in this novel the activities in Starkfield are sparse. For many citizens there is little to do because the heavy snow falls keep the citizens in with lack of transportation. The activities they do are mostly during the spring which is extremely short, consisting only of a few weeks or possibly months of fair weather, and during the winter there is very little to keep the citizens from going insane. Many of the activities they are able to do in the cold winters are dangerous, such as sledding down treacherous hills.
Which causes many different problems and one enormous, devastating, and tragic “smash-up” (pg 2) that results in Ethan Frome’s mutilating disfigurement and Mattie‘s tragic injuries leaving her in a vegetative state. Since most of Starkfield is very barren there isn’t much to do. The lack of activities in Starkfield is a very large impact on the socializing of the citizens of the town. Because of the severe weather Ethan can only get to Corbury Flats once a week to pick up his mail. This leaves him isolated from friends, news and happenings of the outside world that he longs for to keep him sane.
In Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, setting is an important element. Not only does the setting effect the characters, transportation, and activities but it also effects every aspect of the novel. In doing so the effects of the harsh winters cause a cruel and twisted fate trapping Ethan Frome in Starkfield with his undesirable marriage to Zeena forever and altering his fate of life. All and all this is about how the setting in Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, has a great impact on many characteristics of Starkfield assistance.
Author: Noah Kennedy