In the small, desolate town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, Ethan Frome lives a life of poverty. Not only does he live without hope, but he “was a prisoner for life” of the economy (Ammons 2). A young engineer from out of town tells the beginning of the story. He develops a curiosity about Ethan Frome and the fight he hears about in bits and pieces. Later, due to a terrible winter storm that made the snow itself seem “a part of the deepening darkness, like the winter night itself descending upon us layer by layer” (Wharton 20), the narrator is forced to stay for the night from Frome. When he enters the unfamiliar house, the story travels back twenty-four years to the young life of Ethan Frome. Living his life with Zenobia Frome, his hypochondriac wife he doesn't love, Ethan has nowhere to turn for a glimpse of happiness. But when Zenobia's, or Zeena's, young cousin Mattie Silver comes to care for her, Ethan falls in love with the young helper. Mattie is the only light in Ethan's life and “she is at odds with everything in Starkfield; his feelings boil to the surface” (Bernard 2). Throughout the story, the two young lovers hide their feelings for each other. When they finally express their true emotions to each other, the consequence is unexpected. Throughout Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton portrays a twisted fairy tale similar to the story of Snow White with traditional characters, but without a happy ending to show that in a bleak and harsh reality, the beautiful and enchanting girl could become the witch.Ethan Frome contains three main characters who parallel those in traditional fairy tales. First, Zeena represents the witch, or the evil stepmother. Everything about her... middle of paper... seems to have endured more in her life. Not only did he spend his youth caring for his ailing mother and then his wife, but now he must live in the painful memory of what his life could have been if the accident had never happened. The ending of the book leaves readers saddened and frustrated. Although the tale began with a plot that seemingly led to a cheerful ending like that of Snow White, in the end, this beautiful girl turned sour. In this fairytale tragedy, “the lovers do not live happily ever after. The witch wins” (Ammons 1). Works Cited Ammons, Elizabeth. “Ethan Frome and the Question of Meaning” by Edith Wharton. Studies in American Fiction, Vol. 7, no. 2, 1979, pp. 127-140. Bernard, Kenneth. “Imagery and Symbolism in Ethan Frome.” University English, vol. 23, no. 1, October 1961, pp. 178-284. Wharton, Edith. Ethan Frome. New York: Classic Seal, 1911.