Ethan frome test

Andrew Hak

He is an amiable local builder and contractor who regularly buys lumber from the protagonist, Ethan Frome. When Ethan desperately wants to run away and elope with Mattie Silver, he goes to Andrew Hale to ask for an advance payment on a lumber delivery. Hale politely refuses because he is strapped for cash while funding the upcoming wedding of his son, Ned Hale, to Ruth Varnum.Later, Ethan contemplates lying to the Hales to manipulate them into a loan. However, after a chance encounter with Andrew's deeply sympathetic and kind wife, Mrs. Hale, Ethan's strict New England conscience takes over. Realizing it would be wrong to take advantage of such a kind, struggling elderly couple, he abandons his plan to escape Starkfield. Although he attempts to maintain an aura of wealth (often wearing a diamond stud), he is actually quite easygoing with his business habits and is constantly financially strained—or "behind" on his bills—due to the demands of his large family.

Harmon Gow

AI Overview

Harmon Gow is a retired stagecoach driver and town gossip in Edith Wharton's 1911 novella. He provides the unnamed narrator with the first pieces of background information about Ethan Frome's grim life and the "smash-up" accident that left Ethan crippled.He suggests that the narrator hire Ethan as a daily driver to the train station, which sets up the main framing device of the story. As a longtime local resident, he represents the small-town culture of Starkfield, knowing the family histories of everyone in the area

Who is ruth hale

Ruth is the daughter of the late "lawyer Varnum" and has a little more money and a little more education than the other women in town (Prologue.19). She lives with her mother in the big house that once belonged to her father, and rents one of the rooms to the narrator.

Ned Hale

Ned Hale is the son of Andrew Hale and Ruth Varnum, engaged to marry Ruth Varnum. He is depicted as a local character in Ethan Frome's community, representing the younger generation in Starkfield. Ned Hale is a minor character and the son of the town builder in Edith Wharton's novel

Jonathan powell

He helps Ethan with heavy winter tasks like cutting, loading, and hauling lumber. He drives the team of horses for Ethan and is a reliable worker. he refuses Ethan's invitation to stay and have breakfast/dinner with them

When was it published

1911