Performing a bold original literary experiment, Edith Wharton writes a novella titled Ethan Frome. First published in 1911, the author explores a world where reality and poverty shadows great love. Ethan Frome is a 29-year-old man living in Starkfield, Massachusetts who struggles to find meaning in his meager life.

Leaving Starkfield was never a reality for Ethan. He is constantly craving freedom; however, isolation from the very land itself seems to hold him down from “been[ing] in Starkfield too many winters”. Accepting the fact that he will never find true happiness, Ethan has given up all hope. Enter Mattie Silver, a woman who manages to stir Ethan’s worn heart with both delight and sorrow. Ethan struggles with himself as he knows Mattie is the cousin of his wife, Zeena, yet he finds contentment in simply speaking and sneaking glimpses at her.

Although his passion for Mattie grows, Ethan is unwilling to take a chance on a love that is too good to be true and wavers on telling her his feelings. He is driven up a corner when Zeena decides keeping Mattie is a burden, accelerating the need for action. He contemplates a plan to depart Starkfield with Mattie; nonetheless, he faces another dilemma where there is simply no money for travel. Facing a world without each other, they make the ultimate decision.

Wharton weaves a beautiful tragedy whose struggle and powerful emotions mirror those of life today. Each intricate word hauls the reader into a heart-wrenching story where putting down the book would be nearly impossible. Ethan Frome truly elucidates what everyone desires in love: a feeling of sheer bliss and filling a space only meant for one.