Ethan Frome (AmazonClassics Edition) characters

Appears from the start

An engineer temporarily assigned to Starkfield who becomes curious about Ethan Frome, a visibly injured and unusually reserved local man. A winter journey and an enforced stay at the Frome farm give him access to the household behind the town's fragments of gossip.

Appears from the start

A fifty-two-year-old Starkfield farmer whose damaged body and bleak, solitary manner make him look much older. Once physically powerful, he now moves with difficulty and earns a meager living hauling goods. The narrator is struck by the endurance suggested by his appearance and by the ruin of his circumstances.

Appears from the start

A former stage driver and longtime Starkfield observer who first identifies Ethan for the narrator. His recollections establish that Ethan's injuries came from a serious accident many years earlier.

Also known as Mrs. Ned Hale

Appears from the start

A Starkfield widow who knew the Fromes when she was young. She offers the narrator a more compassionate view of Ethan than local rumor does, though painful knowledge makes her reluctant to tell everything she remembers.

Also known as Zeena

Appears from the start

Ethan's older wife, who once nursed his sick mother and then married him. She is preoccupied with her own poor health and depends on patent remedies and medical consultations. At the opening of Ethan's remembered story, she and Ethan share a strained, nearly silent household.

Appears from the start

Zeena's young cousin, taken into the Frome household because she has little money and can help with domestic work. Mattie is inexperienced at chores but warm, responsive, and delighted by small pleasures. Her presence brings companionship and brightness to Ethan's constricted life.

Appears from the start

The well-to-do son of Starkfield's Irish grocer. Sociable and self-assured, he pays attention to Mattie at village gatherings and appears to Ethan to be a plausible rival for her affection.

First appears in chapter 3

The hired man at the Frome farm, quiet and dependable. He assists Ethan with hauling and farm work and generally avoids involvement in the household's tensions.

First appears in chapter 3

A Starkfield builder and Ruth's father. He owes Ethan money for lumber but is himself short of cash, leaving Ethan unable to obtain the payment he needs when his situation becomes urgent.