Ethan Frome
A novella of love, duty, and a tragic sledding accident.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Edith Wharton · see source
Ethan Frome is a 1911 novella by Edith Wharton about a man who falls in love with his wife's cousin, leading to tragic consequences.[1] A real sledding accident in Lenox during 1904, which resulted in the death of a girl and injuries to others, served as the inspiration for the story.[2] A 1993 film and a 2018 ballet called Snowblind are two adaptations of the novella.[1][3]
Making and release
Wharton began the story as a French-language composition while studying in Paris, later transforming it into a novel based on her ten years living in Lenox, Massachusetts.[4] The tragic sledding crash that inspired the plot involved five people—four girls and one boy—who crashed into a lamppost on Courthouse Hill.[2] The novel is among Wharton's few works with a rural setting, and she used the sledding crash as a metaphor for a secret love affair.[2] She always labeled Ethan Frome as a brief reminiscence rather than a novel.[5]
The New York Times called it "a compelling and haunting story" upon its 1911 release.[6] Wharton became acquainted with the accident through Kate Spencer, a survivor who had hip and facial injuries, during their time working together at the Lenox Library.[2]
What the cited sources add
The DanceTabs review of Snowblind notes that Cathy Marston's ballet was inspired by Wharton's 1911 novel and centers on the triangle between Ethan, his ill wife Zeena, and her cousin Mattie.[7] The review describes Ethan and Zeena's first duet as "plagued with heavy obligation," danced by Sarah Van Patten and Ulrik Birkkjaer.[7] Mattie and Ethan's first dance shows her making snow angels and him standing "without a hint of constraint or responsibility"[7] A standout moment in the ballet expresses Ethan's struggle between commitment to Zeena and freedom with Mattie.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Ethan Frome" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Canby, "Liam Neeson in Lead Of Wharton Classic", The New York Times, 1993-03-12 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ethan Frome" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ethan Frome – Context", SparkNotes, 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ethan Frome" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Desaulniers, "San Francisco Ballet – Unbound Festival Program B: works by Myles Thatcher, Cathy Marston, David Dawson – San Francisco", DanceTabs, April 23, 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ethan Frome" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Springer, "Ethan Frome: A Nightmare of Need", Twayne Publishers, 1993 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ethan Frome" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lilburn, Jeffrey. "Ethan Frome (Criticism)." Answers.com. Retrieved 2010-02-24. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Ethan Frome" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Three Lives in Supreme Torture", The New York Times, October 8, 1911, p. BR603 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Desaulniers, "San Francisco Ballet – Unbound Festival Program B: works by Myles Thatcher, Cathy Marston, David Dawson – San Francisco", DanceTabs, April 23, 2018. facts only, no text reused. dancetabs.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ethan Frome (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Ethan Frome (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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