Zeena: She Ain't No Warrior Princess!

Well, for something different, I took the advice of my step-mother and took a break from watching summer blockbusters and reading lighter fare (i.e. Pure Drivel by Steve Martin) and I read a classic story by a timeless author.

As a person who went to college as an English major, I have read my share of classics. Sure enough, many have entertained me and many have bored me to the point that my eyes wandered aimlessly over the same paragraph for hours until I gave up and bought the Cliff Notes. Still, most old novels that I have read caused me to think a heck of a lot more than I do when I read a book by Elmore Leonard or Michael Crichton. I am not saying that Get Shorty isn't worth reading, I am just saying that it doesn't exactly make you ponder your own little role in the universe.

With that said, Ethan Frome didn't shake my philosophical foundations (er, too much), but it did manage to filter its way into my bones as I helplessly watched the lives of three fictional characters unravel one page at a time.

The author of this tale, Edith Wharton (1862-1937), is mostly famous for her novel, The Age of Innocence, which won her a Pulitzer Prize award. She was the first woman to ever win one, coincidentally.

OK. I am going to interrupt myself for a little bit here because I know what you're probably thinking. Great! A history lesson and a review on a boring, stuffy ol' classic, to boot.

I would be lying if I told you I was excited about reading this story -- I pretty much would think the same thing if I read this in another Epinion review. Now that I don't have to read a classic novel every week, I rarely do. Still, when somebody you really trust recommends something, well, you just have to take the plunge. Besides, I knew Ethan Frome was only a 77-page novella, so I knew I wouldn't lose more than two hours of my life or so.

So, don't dismiss this because it was written almost 90 years ago. This is an easy read that will affect you long after you put it down.

Besides, it is quite entertaining in a highly suspenseful, what-the-heck-is-going-to-happen-to-these-people sense that usually is reserved only for soap operas and television series' season finales.

Ethan Frome is a narrative pieced together by a variety of characters from the past and the present. Each person brings their unique perception and voice to add a different piece of the puzzle, though most of the story is told by Ethan's point of view about seven years after he married his wife, Zeena.

By the way, she is not a warrior princess.

Ethan is a poor soul -- he has just enough to scrape by financially and he is just brimming with bad luck. He is smarter than most people and he had once dreamed of pursuing a higher education, but his father passed away and his mother was inflicted with a long, dreadful illness. Ethan gave up everything to take care of his mother, but he never really felt sorry for himself. He just regrets not being able to know more about the world from time to time.

Well, caring for his sick mother and running the family farm (an occupation he would have likely preferred to forgo altogether) begins to become too much for him to deal with, so his cousin (Zeena) arrives on the scene to help Ethan care for his mother. Ethan was so relieved to have somebody to talk to that he eventually developed a fondness for her, but no love ever formed.

After Ethan's mother passed away, he dreaded being alone on the farm so he asked Zeena to marry him. He settled for her and she settled down with him. However, it wasn't long before Zeena became ill herself and poor Ethan was right back to working on the farm and being a one-man hospice care facility.

So, to help Ethan out, Zeena's cousin, Mattie, is sent to stay with the couple. Nobody in the family ever liked Mattie and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to give her to somebody else, since she wasn't able to take care of herself. (It was written over 90 years ago.)

Time passes and Ethan and Mattie share an unspoken bond that seems to grow deeper with each passing day. Ethan knows he could be happy with Mattie, but he is an honorable man and would never dream of leaving Zeena. He stands by her and takes care of her, and only playfully dreams of a life with Mattie. He knows that such fancies could never see the light of day.

Naturally, Zeena begins to notice what is happening between her cousin and her husband and she begins to scheme of a way to get Mattie out of their lives permanently. She is not trying to kill Mattie or Ethan, or anything quite so sinister. She simply wants to send Mattie out of town forever so she doesn't have to worry about her stealing away her husband anymore.

Ethan stands to lose the one thing that makes his miserable life bearable.

Wharton is a master of prose, and though I am not big on long, descriptive passages, she adds a poetic flair to describe the harsh, cruel winters that makes the setting of the story (New England) seem more like Hell on earth than anything else.

The strength of this book, however, is the detailed characterizations, especially of Mattie and Ethan. There is a graceful tenderness that accompanies the powerful bond that attracts the two would-be lovers together, yet both are moral enough to avoid acting on their feelings. Every day, Ethan tortures himself with the notion that he could one day be married to Mattie, yet, he doesn't think those dreams can ever come true. It is hard not to feel sympathy for a man whose only reason for living is to pretend that he has a real life full of happiness and contentment.

Mattie is kind and luminous, and it is a little hard to believe that her whole family seems to hate her. Although, I suppose, she is a bit too much of a free spirit for the people of that time frame. Still, she would never dream of stealing Ethan away from his wife and she also seems to live for their daily conversations.

Zeena, on the other hand, is a very complicated character. It certainly is easy to hate her since she is selfish and unkind. But, she is also quite capable of nurturing and she doesn't exactly have an enviable life, either. Her symptoms seem to improve with her moods, rather than the other way around, so you get the feeling she is faking it some of the time. Still, the book suggests that she is really sick, although, just not to the extent that she claims. She is a drama queen, of sorts.

This book is quite a page-turner (even if there aren't that many pages to turn) and it shifts in tone like a delicately-written symphony. The story has many uplifting, light-hearted moments followed swiftly by grim, reality-leaden realizations. When the book focuses on the elegant romance between Mattie and Ethan, there is always a black cloud named Zeena lurking overhead. When things seem like they can't get any worse for Ethan, he still manages to cling to hope, which he can always manage to find in Mattie's eyes.

I realize how sappy and corny this sounds, and I admit, most of my friends would believe I recently had estrogen injections if they read this, but the truth is, Wharton's writing is powerful enough to draw you right into the hearts of her characters.

Though the book has some sleep-inducing passages and a few confusing moments (I had to read many passages twice just to determine what was actually happening -- chalk it up to old time language and author vagueness), I believe it is highly worth reading. If it sounds a little too innocent for your tastes, keep in mind that this book has moments of pure bleakness and I think the ending of the book is completely ironic and unforgettable.

It left me to wonder how much of our lives our shaped by our status in society and how much is shaped by simple Fate. After all, our perception of how society views us can make anybody feel as though they are limited by circumstance. Yet, don't circumstances actually limit us?

That is something I personally never want to believe, and yet, how can it not be true? Not everybody can be president of the United States. Not everybody can overcome poverty, family tragedy or a poor placement in the social spectrum and manage to prosper.

At the same time, how many people have been able to overcome impossible odds and make their dreams come true? It might not happen often, but it still happens nonetheless. Should we encourage others to reach for the stars? It's a long way to fall if you don't make it.

What is worse, failing or not trying? Is it foolish to try if you know you will fail? How much Fate do we create? How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man? And, by gum, how many questions can run through a person's mind after they read a 77-page book?

I think the next book I will read will be a little less thought-provoking. I could use the rest. Even Xena: Warrior Princess sounds a little mind-boggling right now.