Edith Wharton

Ethan Frome Illustrated Edith Wharton

The novel is framed by the literary device of an extended flashback. The prologue, which is neither named as such nor numbered, opens with an unnamed male narrator spending a winter in stark field while in the area on business. He spots a limping, quiet man around the village, who is somehow compelling in his demeanor and carriage. This is Ethan from, who is a local fixture of the community, having been a lifelong resident.