"Cliff Notes - Ethan Frome" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

One thing that set Wharton apart from other society girls was
her love of writing. She made up stories and wrote poetry.
Offered the choice of an evening with books and writing paper or
going to a party, Wharton would probably have stayed home. She
felt shy and uncomfortable with strangers and grew bored with
dinner-table and drawing-room conversation. Books and learning
delighted her more than the social whirl.

Soon after her society debut Wharton's father fell ill. Hoping
to regain his health in a milder climate, he took the family to
southern Europe. Wharton's time on the continent opened her
eyes to the world. She met cultured Europeans who talked about
art, books, and ideas. With them, Wharton felt at home and soon
built a reputation as an intelligent and witty young woman.

At twenty-three Wharton met and married Edward "Teddy" Wharton,
a friend of her brother. It's hard to imagine a more mismatched
couple. He loved the out-of-doors and the life of a sportsman,
while she cared for books, European culture, and scholarship.
Do opposites attract? Perhaps they do, but in this case the
attraction wore off quickly. The marriage was a failure, but
divorce was out of the question--too scandalous for people of
the Whartons' stature. Instead, Edith and Teddy lived in misery
for the better part of thirty years. At last in 1913, Edith
overcame her sense of duty to her husband. She cast aside fears
of being considered a "divorced woman," and ended her
marriage.

Except for a few fanciful romances, Wharton's early works spring
chiefly from her experience and thought. Many readers have also
noted the influence of the American writer Henry James
(1843-1916) on both the form and content of Wharton's works.
Some of Wharton's writing is set in Europe, where she and Teddy
lived for months each year. They concern the artist's place in
society and contrast European and American culture. Others are
tales of cheating husbands, marital conflict, and, in The House
of Mirth (1905), an ambitious woman's struggle to achieve wealth
and position in New York society. With The House of Mirth
Wharton became a celebrity. Within two months of publication
the novel broke sales records, and Wharton was assured of a
permanent place among the best American authors.

In spite of general discord, Wharton and her husband enjoyed a
few periods of harmony. In 1901 they decided to design and
build a wonderful country house in Lenox, Massachusetts. They
called it "The Mount," and lived in the house on and off for
several years. Wharton portrayed the Lenox area when she wrote
Ethan Frome, published in 1911. Starkfield, the small farming
village in the novel, is much like any of numerous little towns
that dot the New England countryside. Although much of Ethan's