Ethan Frome

Ethan Frome is tired of looking after his sick wife, Zeena, who complains incessantly. His wife's cousin Mattie, on the other hand, is cheerful and healthy, and she wears a becoming cherry-colored scarf to the local dances. She has been living with the Fromes to help around the house, and she and Ethan have fallen in love. They are careful never to show their feelings for each other, but Zeena grows suspicious and decides to send Mattie away. Desperate not to be separated, Mattie convinces Ethan to run their sled down a snowy hill and into a tree so that their last moments might be spent together. But will it be the end they hoped for? This tragic romance, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton, was first published in 1911.