Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome is the
story of a very unfortunate man. Ethan Frome lives in a place called Starkfield, a city
which tends to suck the very life out of those who live there. Ethan has lived there too
long.
His troubles begin at home. He is away at college
when he is called back to his family because his father was kicked in the head by an
animal and started giving "money like bible texts." After he died, Ethan's mother became
"queer." No specific disease or ailment is named, but we do know her symptoms. She
suffered from rheumatism (arthritis) and was not able to be particularly active. So
she used to enjoy watching people pass by outside their window; when the traffic pattern
changes and she is isolated, she is silent for long periods of time. She also suffers
from rheumatism. Ethan says it this way:
...after the trains begun running nobody ever
come by here to speak of, and mother never could get it through her head what had
happened, and it preyed on her right along till she
died.
It appears she suffered
some form of depression in addition to her arthritis. Turning "queer" is a common
euphemism for those who undergo a dramatic change such as depression or other mental
illness.
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