Take this Ethan Frome Quiz to find out how well you remember the book. Answer these quick questions to find out. Play it now!
The narrator, who is stranded in Starkfield, a sleepy New England town for the winter, decides to investigate the life of mysterious local Ethan Frome, who perished in a terrible accident roughly 20 years before. When a severe snowstorm compels the narrator to spend the night at the Frome family’s home, the narrator finally learns the specifics of Ethan’s “smash-up,” as the locals refer to it, after asking several locals questions with little success.
When we return to that fateful year, Ethan is seen at midnight wandering across a snow-covered Starkfield. When he enters the town church, the basement lighting reveals a dance. Ethan stands in front of the window staring at a young girl wearing a cherry-colored scarf. Having lived with the Fromes for more than a year and helping out around the house, he has come to the church to pick up Mattie Silver, the cousin of his wife. We eventually find out that Mattie is the girl with the red scarf and that she is the love interest of Ethan. This Ethan Frome quiz will help you remember certain details.
Ethan Frome quiz
Ethan stays back during the dance’s end to avoid being seen. Denis Eady, another young man, offers to give Mattie a ride, but she declines and sets out on her own to walk home. She is caught up by Ethan. Ethan feels a thrill in Mattie’s presence as they continue on their journey together, and it becomes clear that there is tension between the two. When they get home and are greeted by Zeena, Ethan’s frail, shrewish wife, who has kept a late-night watch in anticipation of their return, the tension eases, though. She clearly has misgivings about the relationship between her husband and her cousin, and Ethan leaves to bed feeling uneasy, not speaking to Zeena and thinking only about Mattie. Also, you must try to play this Ethan Frome quiz.
Characters:
Ethan Frome
Ethan, the story’s main character, is a farmer whose family has spent their entire life on the same Massachusetts farm. Ethan is a sensitive person who has a profound, almost mystical sense of nature. He also has a strong affinity for Mattie Silver, the cousin of his wife, who embodies youth, beauty, and vitality. He ultimately lacks the inner fortitude required to fight the stifling influences of convention, climate, and his ailing wife.
Zenobia Frome
Zeena, or Ethan’s ill wife, is a popular nickname. She is the least likable character in the book because she comes across as prematurely old, acerbic in disposition, prone to alternate spells of silence and wrath, and totally unattractive. She exhibits a degree of hypochondria and is intensely concerned in the therapy of her own sickness (imagined illness or minor symptoms secretly relished and exaggerated by the patient). Zeena appears to be physically feeble, yet she actually rules their home rather than Ethan.
Mattie Silver
Zeena’s cousin visits to help the Fromes with household chores. Mattie attracts Ethan’s attention and returns his adoration since she is attractive, young, and active. Mattie never really comes into her own as a fully developed character because the reader only sees her through Ethan’s own lovesick eyes. She frequently comes out as less of a real person with flaws and more of a rallying point for Ethan’s rebellion against Zeena and Starkfield.
The Narrator
Despite telling the story’s events, the narrator—an engineer by trade—does not participate in the plot. The fact that he goes unnamed draws attention to his weak moral fiber. He has a fresh perspective on Ethan Frome’s story because he is unfamiliar with Starkfield, and he serves as a link between the reader and the reader in the real world about Frome’s tragedy.
About the Ethan Frome quiz
15 multiple-choice questions in the free Ethan Frome quiz below will help you gauge your knowledge of the book. Determine which chapters, ideas, and writing techniques you already understand, as well as what you still need to learn in preparation for your forthcoming essay, midterm, or final test. Now take the free test!
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