The narrator of the novel notices a crippled, frail, sad-looking man in town, whose name is Ethan Frome. The narrator meets Ethan when the man who drives him to the local train station is unable to take him and another townsman suggests that the narrator ask Ethan to drive. Ethan has been driving the narrator back and forth for a while until one winter day, huge amounts of snow block their path. Ethan invites the …showed first 75 words of 896 total…

…showed last 75 words of 896 total…tree. They both agree that their lives are not worth living if they are separated. They hit the elm tree with an unexpected result: they are both severely injured, but survive the crash. Zeena takes the invalid Mattie in and cares for her; Ethan is crippled from the crash. Ethan's fate is tragic: he must live with the woman he hates, and the woman with whom he had a chance to live a happy life. >