Ethan Frome
STAGE 3
Before Reading
BEFORE READING ACTIVITIES (PAGE 60)
ACTIVITY 1 BEFORE READING
Open answers. Encourage students to speculate and
to make guesses based on the story introduction
and the back-cover text, but do not tell them if
their guesses are correct. They will find out as
they read that the story will be serious, possibly
frightening, and will end very sadly. Ethan will fall
in love with Mattie, and they will both try to kill
themselves.
CHAPTERS 4 TO 6 WHILE READING
Open answers. Encourage students to think about
the simplicity of life a century ago: Ethan Frome
would have worked with only hand tools and
horse-power, with no electricity and few home
comforts. There were no pensions, state welfare,
or insurance, and the poor could only turn to their
families for help. The climate was very harsh in this
area, making farming and travelling difficult, and
illness in these conditions would be common.
While Reading
CHAPTER 1 WHILE READING
$ENIS%ADY
5 Ethan Frome
AT THE END OF CHAPTER 1
Only the first question can be answered at this
stage (Ethan’s body was damaged because of a bad
accident). Encourage students to speculate about
the second and third questions, but do not give the
answers now. By the end of the story it will be only
too clear why Ethan’s face looks so grim.
CHAPTERS 2 AND 3 WHILE READING
1
2
3
4
5
6
Denis Eady
Mattie Silver
Zeena Frome
Jotham Powell
Andrew Hale
Ruth Varnum (later, Ruth Hale)
BEFORE READING CHAPTER 7
Encourage students to speculate and to make
guesses, but do not tell them the answers. They will
find out as they read that Ethan isn’t able to get any
money, that Mattie never leaves Starkfield, and that
the last ride is Ethan and Mattie making a suicide
attempt on the coasting slope because they cannot
bear to be parted from each other.
CHAPTER 3 WHILE READING
1+8
2+7
Ethan left his engineering studies and came
home because his father had had a bad
accident.
His father died, and then his mother grew more
and more silent and crazy.
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23 ETHAN FROME
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© Oxford University Press
1 Why . . .? Because he and Mattie would be alone
together.
2 What . . .? Zeena’s red glass dish.
3 Why . . .? Because it was Zeena’s best dish, a
wedding present from her aunt, and Mattie knew
that Zeena would be very angry that it was broken.
4 What . . .? About everyday things, about going
coasting one night, about Zeena.
5 What . . .? The end of Mattie’s piece of sewing.
6 Why . . .? Because the weather was very bad, with
very icy roads, which meant the horses could only go
slowly.
7 What . . .? The doctor had said that Zeena mustn’t
do anything at all in the house.
8 Why . . .? Because he didn’t have the money to pay a
hired girl, and also because he was afraid that Zeena
was planning to send Mattie away.
9 Why . . .? Because Mattie had been there long
enough, and it was time for her to go.
10 Why . . .? Because there were too many people
looking for work in the towns, and there were no
jobs that Mattie could do.
11 What . . .? He was planning to give the farm and the
saw-mill to Zeena, leave Starkfield with Mattie, and
find work in the West.
12 Why . . .? Probably because she was feeling pleased
– she was sending Mattie away and punishing her
husband.
13 Why . . .? Because he realized he was planning to
tell lies to two kind people, and then leave his sickly
wife with no money. He suddenly felt ashamed of
himself.
ACTIVITY 2 BEFORE READING
(ARMON'OW
2 The narrator
3 Ruth Hale
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS
3+12 His cousin Zeena came to the farm when old
Mrs Frome was dying.
4+10 After his mother died, Ethan was afraid of
being alone and so he asked Zeena to marry
him.
5+9 They wanted to sell the farm and move to the
town, but then Zeena became sickly and silent
too.
6+11 Mattie Silver came to live with them in order to
help Zeena with the housework.
7 R UT H H AL E : Silver was a bad businessman. He
borrowed a lot, but couldn’t pay it back. When
he died, Mattie was left with nothing at all, and
nobody to help her.
4 N AR R AT O R : So she had to go and live with the
Fromes?
11 R UT H H AL E : That’s right. Twenty-five years she’s
been there now – twenty-four since the accident.
2 N AR R AT O R : So Mattie was in the accident as well?
9 R UT H H AL E : Oh yes, she was hurt worse than
Ethan. She can’t walk at all, poor girl. Never
leaves the house.
CHAPTER 7 WHILE READING
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS
1 Shadow Pond, where they had spent some happy
moments together last summer.
2 Their first ride down the slope in the sled.
3 Death.
4 Killed themselves.
CHAPTER 8 WHILE READING
1 Mattie’s.
2 Because there was no other place for her to go.
3 The Fromes down in their graves.
After Reading
ACTIVITY 5 AFTER READING
Suggested answers:
I N SPEC T O R : So, Mr Powell, do you remember what
happened last Wednesday?
J OT H AM : Wednesday? Yes, I remember. Mr Frome and
I were down at the saw-mill early, loading wood for
Mr Hale.
I N SPEC T O R : And what time did you finish loading?
J OT H AM : About midday, I guess. Then Mr Frome and I
went up to the house for a bite to eat.
I N SPEC T O R : Were Mrs Frome and Miss Silver both in
the house?
J OT H AM : Yes, sir, they were both there. Miss Mattie
was making coffee, and Mrs Frome was dressed in
her travelling clothes, ready to leave for the station.
I N SPEC T O R : Did you drive Mrs Frome to the station?
J OT H AM : Yes, I did. She caught the two o’clock train.
I N SPEC T O R : And did you see Mr Frome again that day?
J OT H AM : No, I didn’t see him again. I called in for
a drop of coffee later, but Miss Mattie was alone
then.
I N SPEC T O R : When did Mrs Frome come home?
J OT H AM : She came home on Thursday. Mr Frome sent
me to the station to fetch her after dinner.
I N SPEC T O R : Now, tell me about Friday.
J OT H AM : Well, on Friday morning Mrs Frome said I
had to take Mattie to the station, and bring back
the new girl.
I N SPEC T O R : And why didn’t you do that?
J OT H AM : Because at dinner Mr Frome said he’d drive
Miss Mattie to the station himself.
ACTIVITY 1 AFTER READING
s :EENAISAtall, silent woman, with cold eyes and
thin lips. Her hair is grey, and her skin is yellowish.
Zeena has a whining voice, and she complains a lot.
She loves talking about her own ill health.
s -ATTIEISAlively, young woman, with shining eyes
and soft lips. Her hair is dark, and her skin is milky
white. Mattie has a sweet voice, and she smiles a lot.
She loves talking about the beauty of nature.
ACTIVITY 2 AFTER READING
Students can complete this letter in different ways.
Possible answers might be:
Dear Jessie,
Please help me, I just don’t know what to do! I’m so
in love with Ethan, and I think he feels the same way
about me. Last night he brought me home from a
dance, and when we stood together in the moonlight,
he wanted to kiss me, I’m sure. But I think my cousin
Zeena has noticed something, and I’m so afraid that
she’ll send me away. Oh, what can I do? Should I tell
Ethan that I love him? Or should I keep quiet? Or
marry Denis, the shopkeeper’s boring son? Maybe I
should leave Starkfield and go away. But where could I
go? Oh, Jessie, please write to me soon!
Your dear friend, Mattie
ACTIVITY 3 AFTER READING
Free writing. Encourage students to discuss Mattie’s
dilemma, and perhaps compose their replies
working in pairs or small groups.
© Oxford University Press
ACTIVITY 4 AFTER READING
5 R UT H H AL E : Yes, I knew them both . . . it was awful
...
8 N AR R AT O R : Both? Who was the other person?
3 R UT H H AL E : It was Mattie Silver, his wife’s cousin.
6 N AR R AT O R : Was she from Starkfield too?
1 R UT H H AL E : No, she was a Bettsbridge girl. Her
father used to own a big company in town, but
Mattie didn’t have a dollar in her pocket when
Zeena brought her here.
10 N AR R AT O R : What happened to her father’s money?
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ACTIVITY 6 AFTER READING
ACTIVITIES ANSWERS
Two young people were very badly hurt on a coasting
slope last Friday evening. The accident happened at
about five o’clock on a hillside in Starkfield. Mr Ethan
Frome, a Starkfield farmer, and his wife’s cousin, Miss
Mattie Silver, were on their way to the station. Mr
Frome, who had often coasted before, went down a
steep slope, with Miss Silver sitting behind him on the
sled. Half way down, the sled crashed into a big tree.
Nobody saw the accident.
TITLES FOR THE REPORT AFTER READING
Open answers.
ACTIVITY 7 AFTER READING
© Oxford University Press
a) Open answers, but number 2 is the most likely
for Ruth Hale, who seems to blame Mattie
a little (‘All those years with Mattie have
destroyed Ethan.’)
b) Open answers, but number 4 seems the most
likely. The narrator’s reaction to the tragedy was
‘I thought how hard life was for the poor.’
c) Open answers. Encourage discussion.
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