Reaction to Ethan Frome essays

Reaction to Ethan Frome essays The movie begins in winter and Reverend Smith enters the town to serve the community of Starkfield. Eager to do gods work, this very ambitious preacher pities an old man and wishes to help him. The people of the town seem to become rigged and tightlipped whenever Reverend Smith ever brings him up. Mr. Smiths keeper Mrs. Crane explains to him that he has sinned and begins to tell him the story of Ethan Fromes misfortune. Its at this point in the movie when there is a flashback sequence that lasts for most of the remainder of the film. We find out that the old cripple was not always crippled. It seems curious to how he got this way. We also meet a new character, which is a distant cousin of Ethans. Zeena was sent to live with Ethan to help take care of his mother until the day of her death during the winter. Too cold to travel home, Zeena stays with Ethan. They eventually fall in love and get married. As time progresses, Zeenas health declines and she sends for a relative to come live with them until her health improves. Mattie Silver arrives to take care of her cousin and eventually caches the eye of Ethan. A strong sexual tension builds between the two and they eventually fall for one another. While attempting to maintain a discreet relationship, the towns people become displaced from Ethan and they become aware that the interaction between Ethan and Mattie is not normal. As Zeena returns from an out of town doctors visit for her illness, she is easily enraged and seems to be intuitive to the intermingling between Ethan and Mattie. Zeena sends for another family member to replace Mattie and it threatens the relationship that Ethan and Mattie have built. As Ethan is taking Mattie to the train station to leave the town, they decide to go sledding where on top of a hill they express their passion for each other. After several runs, Ethan places Mattie in the steering position and sh ...