Nice little novel!... I like the descriptive, vivid writing, which is a contrast to the bitter, frosty winter setting... The ending, while very sad, is also satisfying and ironic... The novel raises several important themes worth thinking about, along with being interestingly similar to the author's life.
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Whenever I read Edith Wharton I do find there to be a "bitter" or deteriorating quality in her fiction. This is even when she sets her characters in sunny places replete with warm weather. Honestly, I think that her life was so sad--her husband was unfaithful to her and she disliked high society--that these themes creep into her novels. The idea is that America's privileged classes really suffered and Wharton herself suffered. This cannot help but bleed in to Etahn Frome. Ethan's desire to leave his wife and elope with Mattie (and the trouble he has making this decision) shows the stifling attitude(s) of the New England that she was so familiar with.
All three main characters certainly suffer in this novel. Although Ethan falls for Mattie, I pull for him despite that unfaithfulness.
Your insight into Wharton's writings are interesting. Why do you think the privileged classes suffer in her writing? I see why she herself suffered, but I wonder if she sees herself in some broader context?
The privileged classes did suffer. This is especially true for the woemen. Basically, there was a great deal that they had to do to remain in society's good graces. One slip and they were on the outside.
Combine that with the issue of infidelity--This did indeed happen because many married for reasons other than genuine love--and you have an environment that many felt was best avoided. Cerainly Edith Wharton felt this way. That is why she lived in Europe for so many years.
Sadly, the same situation probably still exists today, where people marry for reasons besides love.
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