Ethan Frome Lecture Notes Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering the characters, setting, plot points, and key events from the lecture notes on Ethan Frome.

Starkfield

A boring town with not much there that nevertheless invigorates Mattie by providing her with a place to stay.

Narrator

An engineer working at a powerhouse (electrical plant) in Starkfield who seeks to learn more about Ethan Frome.

Ethan Frome

A tall, scarred man with a limp who studied physics in college, desired to live in Florida, and was involved in a major accident 24 years ago.

Harmon Gow

The man who drives Ethan around and shares information about Ethan's past with the narrator.

Smash-up

The major accident Ethan Frome had 24 years ago.

Popular Science

A magazine copy that the narrator lets Ethan keep to build a friendship and gather more information about him.

Denis Eady

A wealthy grocer who owns his shop and dances with Mattie, making Ethan jealous due to his money and closeness with Mattie.

Mattie

A pretty, kind, and bubbly girl living 42 miles out of town with the Fromes as an unpaid housekeeper after her parents died and she sold her piano.

Zeena

Ethan's controlling, old-looking, and mad wife who met Ethan while taking care of his sick mother and acts as the boss of the household.

The Missing Key

An incident where Zeena hides the key, watches Mattie and Ethan look for it, and opens the door, demonstrating her control.

Gravestones

Markers Ethan passes that make him feel there is no way out and that he will die in Starkfield.

Mattie's Past

The background of Mattie, whose mother died and whose father owned a pharmacy but died, leaving all money spent on his funeral and forcing her to sell her piano.

Andrew Hale

A builder Ethan visits to ask for money—using it as an excuse to avoid driving Zeena to the train—who cannot pay Ethan yet because he is building a house.

Ethan's Parents

Ethan's father who got into an accident, and his mother who became really sick and was cared for by Zeena.

Ned and Ruth Hale

A couple Ethan sees kissing, making him wish he could kiss Mattie as well.

The Pickle Dish

A wedding gift dish that the cat breaks during dinner, which Ethan hides on top of the cabinet promising to fix later so Mattie does not get fired.

The Cat

The household pet that breaks Zeena and Ethan's wedding pickle dish during dinner, making Ethan and Mattie nervous.