Discuss The Importance Of Setting In Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome

Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome is set in a rural New England winter. The town of Starkfield is a cold and lifeless place where life is dull and somber. Wharton labels Starkfield as a small farming community and it certainly lives up to its name. A desolate and poor place, this God-forsaken town has the power to shape the lives of its people. Having winters that last for six months, people succumb to stay indoors and keep to themselves. Weeks go by and there is little or no social interaction between friends and neighbors. Like the town, people are dreary and cheerless. The setting of the novel plays an important role in the development of the main characters as it shapes and eventually determines both the personalities and destinies of Ethan,