Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

EDITH WHARTON'S

ETHAN FROME

Mothers of the Macabre

First published in 1911

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Contents

Edith Wharton 5

MOTHERS OF THE MACABRE

How Women Writers Shaped Gothic Horror 7

ETHAN FROME 11

I 25

II 33

III 43

IV 49

V 61

VI 67

VII 73

VIII 85

IX 95

Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton was born in New York City in 1862. Her family were extremely wealthy, and during her youth she was provided private tuition and travelled extensively in Europe. A voracious reader, Wharton studied literature, philosophy, science, and art, and began to write poetry and short fiction. In 1885, aged 23, Edith married a banker, Edward Robbins, and for the next few years they travelled extensively together. Living near Central Park in New York, Wharton’s first poems were published in Scribner’s Magazine. In 1891, the same publication printed the first of her many short stories, titled ‘Mrs. Manstey’s View’. Over the next four decades, they—along with other well-established American publications such as Atlantic Monthly, Century Magazine, Harper’s and Lippincott’s—regularly published her work.

A lifelong keen architect, in 1902 Wharton designed and built her home, The Mount, in Lenox, Massachusetts. It was while living here that she wrote many of her works, including the 1905 novel The House of Mirth, which was that year’s bestseller, and is now considered a classic of American literary Naturalism. In the period leading up to the First World War, Wharton wrote prolifically, and in 1921 she received the Pulitzer Prize—the first ever woman to do so—for her novel The Age of Innocence. Like much of her work, the novel examines the tension between societal pressures and the pursuit of genuine happiness, and includes careful use of dramatic irony.

Edith Wharton died of a stroke in 1937, aged 75. In addition to her novels, she is remembered for her short fiction, especially her excellent ghost stories.

MOTHERS OF THE MACABRE

How Women Writers Shaped Gothic Horror

Encompassing various literary movements and time periods, the Mothers of the Macabre book series explores the evolution of gothic horror while paying homage to the pioneering women writers who played a pivotal role in shaping and advancing the genre. Celebrating the enduring influence of these groundbreaking authors, this series presents a collection of gothic horror titles from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries.

Gothic fiction was popularised in the final decades of the 1700s with the publication of Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). The historical novel is a tale of both physical horror and psychological terror. It features key tropes of the genre including an eerie castle, elements of the supernatural, and a fiercely bold heroine. Radcliffe's success sparked a surge of interest in gothic literature, leading to a proliferation of works by both male and female authors who sought to replicate her distinctive style and evoke the same sense of atmospheric dread. Her influence extended beyond her time, resonating through the romantic era and continuing to inspire generations of writers.

The significance of powerful female protagonists dominating gothic novels can be tied to the rise of feminism towards the end of the eighteenth century. Published just two years prior to Radcliffe's groundbreaking novel was Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). Often referred to as the mother of feminism, Wollstonecraft's classic work advocates for gender equality and the rights of women, remaining a key text in the history of the feminist movement. In 1798, she produced a sequel to her feminist treatise in the form of a gothic horror novel. Maria, or, The Wrongs of Woman is a haunting exploration of female oppression and resilience. Wollstonecraft's powerful prose vividly depicts a young woman's struggle for autonomy and explores complex social issues. While offering a thought-provoking critique of gender roles, the novel is characterised by the traditional gothic element of fear.

Although Radcliffe and Wollstonecraft’s cornerstone works popularised the genre, an earlier work by Horace Walpole is widely considered the first gothic horror novel. His revered The Castle of Otranto was first published in 1764. Set in an antiquated castle of abandoned wings and winding hallways, the haunting volume features horrifying supernatural visitations, long-dreaded curses, and barbarous murders. It established the key elements and traditions of the gothic genre and inspired many imitations, including an unfinished short story, 'Sir Bertrand', by Anna Laetitia Barbauld. Published in 1773, this terrifying fragment also features a mysterious castle, an isolated moor, and ghostly visitations. Despite Walpole’s appreciation of Barbauld’s work, he largely disapproved of a later literary offspring of his novel by Clara Reeve. The Old English Baron (1777) rewrites Walpole's fantastical work with features of naturalism for the modern reader. Where The Castle of Otranto melodramatically blurs the line between realism and the supernatural, The Old English Baron presents an atmosphere steeped in relentless suspense.

These earlier works inspired many of the gothic horror novels produced in the final three decades of the eighteenth century, and this period is often referred to as the golden age of gothic literature. As the 1800s dawned, gothic horror had a clear definition and well-defined boundaries, facilitating the seamless classification of works within the genre. Jane Austen wrote her partially satirical work Northanger Abbey in 1803, first published posthumously in 1818, which lists seven 'horrid novels' that exemplify gothic horror fiction. The list includes The Castle of Wolfenbach (1793) by Eliza Parsons and The Orphan of the Rhine (1798) by Eleanor Sleath, both of which are evocative writings of secrets and hidden terrors.

The Mothers of the Macabre series features many of the volumes written by women during the gothic golden age, but also celebrates later works that now define the genre. Among the luminaries showcased in this extraordinary series are Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Gaskell’s atmospheric and emotionally charged narratives continue to captivate readers in timeless classics such as The Old Nurse's Story (1852), while Gilman’s chilling short ghost story 'The Giant Wistaria' explores the patriarchal control of female sexual expression. The series also features terrifying fiction by Edith Wharton, best remembered for her Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Age of Innocence (1920).

Other noteworthy authors presented in the series include Louisa May Alcott and Edith Nesbit. Although both women are widely beloved for their children's books, including Little Women (1868) and The Railway Children (1906) respectively, this series shines a light on their lesser-known works of gothic horror. Their short stories explore societal constraints, supernatural elements, and forbidden desires, and are collected in The Midnight Inkwell (2023), a unique curated volume of sinister tales.

Each of these remarkable women contributed their unique perspectives and narratives to the gothic tradition, leaving an indelible mark on literature. Unearthing trailblazing voices that shaped the genre, the Mothers of the Macabre series explores the depths of gothic horror. With its rich tapestry of pioneering female authors and enthralling titles, this series stands as a testament to the enduring power of gothic horror and the lasting legacy of these extraordinary women writers.

Stories of the supernatural, many of a rare excellence, have been penned by . . . Edith Wharton

—Montague Summers,

The Supernatural Omnibus, 1931

ETHAN FROME

I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.

If you know Starkfield, Massachusetts, you know the post-office. If you know the post-office you must have seen Ethan Frome drive up to it, drop the reins on his hollow-backed bay and drag himself across the brick pavement to the white colonnade; and you must have asked who he was.

It was there that, several years ago, I saw him for the first time; and the sight pulled me up sharp. Even then he was the most striking figure in Starkfield, though he was but the ruin of a man. It was not so much his great height that marked him, for the natives were easily singled out by their lank longitude from the stockier foreign breed: it was the careless powerful look he had, in spite of a lameness checking each step like the jerk of a chain. There was something bleak and unapproachable in his face, and he was so stiffened and grizzled that I took him for an old man and was surprised to hear that he was not more than fifty-two. I had this from Harmon Gow, who had driven the stage from Bettsbridge to Starkfield in pre-trolley days and knew the chronicle of all the families on his line.

He's looked that way ever since he had his smash-up; and that's twenty-four years ago come next February, Harmon threw out between reminiscent pauses.

The smash-up it was—I gathered from the same informant—which, besides drawing the red gash across Ethan Frome's forehead, had so shortened and warped his right side that it cost him a visible effort to take the few steps from his buggy to the post-office window. He used to drive in from his farm every day at about noon, and as that was my own hour for fetching my mail I often passed him in the porch or stood beside him while we waited on the motions of the distributing hand behind the grating. I noticed that, though he came so punctually, he seldom received anything but a copy of the Bettsbridge Eagle, which he put without a glance into his sagging pocket. At intervals, however, the post-master would hand him an envelope addressed to Mrs. Zenobia—or Mrs. Zeena—Frome, and usually bearing conspicuously in the upper left-hand corner the address of some manufacturer of patent medicine and the name of his specific. These documents my neighbour would also pocket without a glance, as if too much used to them to wonder at their number and variety, and would then turn away with a silent nod to the post-master.

Every one in Starkfield knew him and gave him a greeting tempered to his own grave mien; but his taciturnity was respected and it was only on rare occasions that one of the older men of the place detained him for a word. When this happened he would listen quietly, his blue eyes on the speaker's face, and