Journal: Isolation What is isolation? How can a person be physically or figuratively isolated? Does isolation strengthen a person or defeat a person? Explain.

Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome An Introduction

3 Objectives Discuss the symbolic use of color Explain the significance of imagery in the novel Analyze the creation and use of irony Analyze the impact of setting on character and plot Analyze the point of view, narrative voice, and narrative techniques used by the author Grudzina, Rebecca. Individual Learning Packet Teaching Unit: Ethan Frome. Clayton, DE: Prestwick House, Print.

Author: Edith Wharton Born Edith Newbold Jones Wealthy New York family (original “keeping up with the Joneses” –Wedding called off by fiance’s parents upset at Jones family’s snobbery 1885 (age 23) married Edward (Teddy) Robbins Wharton, twelve years her senior, from a well-established Boston family –Sportsman and gentleman; her family approved of his social class –Shared a love of travel but little in common intellectually 4 Grudzina, Rebecca. Individual Learning Packet Teaching Unit: Ethan Frome. Clayton, DE: Prestwick House, Print.

Author: Edith Wharton –He began a series of affairs with younger women, which effected her mental health –Her doctor recommended she write to relieve stress ( Ethan Frome ) –Divorced in 1913 after his nervous breakdown Also a well-respected landscape architect and interior designer Pulitzer Prize in 1921 for The Age of Innocence, the first female winner Died in Grudzina, Rebecca. Individual Learning Packet Teaching Unit: Ethan Frome. Clayton, DE: Prestwick House, Print.

Narrative Reliability Frame story with both parts told by the same narrator Potentially unreliable because of the various sources he uses to piece events together and his reference to the tale as a “vision” –Not a factual record except for certain aspects of the frame sections –Does Mrs. Hale’s comment at the end verify the narrator’s tale? Is it all really about the narrator and what kind of man he could become without his profession and independence? 6 Grudzina, Rebecca. Individual Learning Packet Teaching Unit: Ethan Frome. Clayton, DE: Prestwick House, Print.

Moral Dilemma Is the suffering justified? Is Ethan a tragic figure or one who is emotionally and morally paralyzed? Do the characters deserve their fates? Are they inevitable? What is more important: moral duty or personal happiness? What happens when one refuses to choose? Is Mattie a Cinderella/Snow White figure? In this “fairy tale,” who wins? Is Zeena a victim? Grudzina, Rebecca. Individual Learning Packet Teaching Unit: Ethan Frome. Clayton, DE: Prestwick House, Print. 7

Envelope Topics Presence of color Landscape Buildings Physical descriptions of characters Irony Past events that affect the present