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• Isela Rodriguez Lopez

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Ethan Frome

STAGE 3

Before Reading BEFORE READING ACTIVITIES (PAGE 60) ACTIVITY 1 BEFORE READING

Open answers. Encourage students to speculate and to make guesses based on the story introduction and the back-cover text, but do not tell them if their guesses are correct. They will find out as they read that the story will be serious, possibly frightening, and will end very sadly. Ethan will fall in love with Mattie, and they will both try to kill themselves.

CHAPTERS 4 TO 6 WHILE READING

Open answers. Encourage students to think about the simplicity of life a century ago: Ethan Frome would have worked with only hand tools and horse-power, with no electricity and few home comforts. There were no pensions, state welfare, or insurance, and the poor could only turn to their families for help. The climate was very harsh in this area, making farming and travelling difficult, and illness in these conditions would be common.

While Reading CHAPTER 1 WHILE READING

 $ENIS%ADY 5 Ethan Frome

AT THE END OF CHAPTER 1

Only the first question can be answered at this stage (Ethan’s body was damaged because of a bad accident). Encourage students to speculate about the second and third questions, but do not give the answers now. By the end of the story it will be only too clear why Ethan’s face looks so grim. CHAPTERS 2 AND 3 WHILE READING

1 2 3 4 5 6

Denis Eady Mattie Silver Zeena Frome Jotham Powell Andrew Hale Ruth Varnum (later, Ruth Hale)

BEFORE READING CHAPTER 7

Encourage students to speculate and to make guesses, but do not tell them the answers. They will find out as they read that Ethan isn’t able to get any money, that Mattie never leaves Starkfield, and that the last ride is Ethan and Mattie making a suicide attempt on the coasting slope because they cannot bear to be parted from each other.

CHAPTER 3 WHILE READING

1+8

2+7

Ethan left his engineering studies and came home because his father had had a bad accident. His father died, and then his mother grew more and more silent and crazy.

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ETHAN FROME XXX

© Oxford University Press

1 Why . . .? Because he and Mattie would be alone together. 2 What . . .? Zeena’s red glass dish. 3 Why . . .? Because it was Zeena’s best dish, a wedding present from her aunt, and Mattie knew that Zeena would be very angry that it was broken. 4 What . . .? About everyday things, about going coasting one night, about Zeena. 5 What . . .? The end of Mattie’s piece of sewing. 6 Why . . .? Because the weather was very bad, with very icy roads, which meant the horses could only go slowly. 7 What . . .? The doctor had said that Zeena mustn’t do anything at all in the house. 8 Why . . .? Because he didn’t have the money to pay a hired girl, and also because he was afraid that Zeena was planning to send Mattie away. 9 Why . . .? Because Mattie had been there long enough, and it was time for her to go. 10 Why . . .? Because there were too many people looking for work in the towns, and there were no jobs that Mattie could do. 11 What . . .? He was planning to give the farm and the saw-mill to Zeena, leave Starkfield with Mattie, and find work in the West. 12 Why . . .? Probably because she was feeling pleased – she was sending Mattie away and punishing her husband. 13 Why . . .? Because he realized he was planning to tell lies to two kind people, and then leave his sickly wife with no money. He suddenly felt ashamed of himself.

ACTIVITY 2 BEFORE READING

 (ARMON'OW 2 The narrator 3 Ruth Hale

ACTIVITIES ANSWERS

3+12 His cousin Zeena came to the farm when old Mrs Frome was dying. 4+10 After his mother died, Ethan was afraid of being alone and so he asked Zeena to marry him. 5+9 They wanted to sell the farm and move to the town, but then Zeena became sickly and silent too. 6+11 Mattie Silver came to live with them in order to help Zeena with the housework.

7 R UT H H AL E : Silver was a bad businessman. He borrowed a lot, but couldn’t pay it back. When he died, Mattie was left with nothing at all, and nobody to help her. 4 N AR R AT O R : So she had to go and live with the Fromes? 11 R UT H H AL E : That’s right. Twenty-five years she’s been there now – twenty-four since the accident. 2 N AR R AT O R : So Mattie was in the accident as well? 9 R UT H H AL E : Oh yes, she was hurt worse than Ethan. She can’t walk at all, poor girl. Never leaves the house.

CHAPTER 7 WHILE READING

ACTIVITIES ANSWERS

1 Shadow Pond, where they had spent some happy moments together last summer. 2 Their first ride down the slope in the sled. 3 Death. 4 Killed themselves. CHAPTER 8 WHILE READING

1 Mattie’s. 2 Because there was no other place for her to go. 3 The Fromes down in their graves.

After Reading

ACTIVITY 5 AFTER READING

Suggested answers: I N SPEC T O R : So, Mr Powell, do you remember what happened last Wednesday? J OT H AM : Wednesday? Yes, I remember. Mr Frome and I were down at the saw-mill early, loading wood for Mr Hale. I N SPEC T O R : And what time did you finish loading? J OT H AM : About midday, I guess. Then Mr Frome and I went up to the house for a bite to eat. I N SPEC T O R : Were Mrs Frome and Miss Silver both in the house? J OT H AM : Yes, sir, they were both there. Miss Mattie was making coffee, and Mrs Frome was dressed in her travelling clothes, ready to leave for the station. I N SPEC T O R : Did you drive Mrs Frome to the station? J OT H AM : Yes, I did. She caught the two o’clock train. I N SPEC T O R : And did you see Mr Frome again that day? J OT H AM : No, I didn’t see him again. I called in for a drop of coffee later, but Miss Mattie was alone then. I N SPEC T O R : When did Mrs Frome come home? J OT H AM : She came home on Thursday. Mr Frome sent me to the station to fetch her after dinner. I N SPEC T O R : Now, tell me about Friday. J OT H AM : Well, on Friday morning Mrs Frome said I had to take Mattie to the station, and bring back the new girl. I N SPEC T O R : And why didn’t you do that? J OT H AM : Because at dinner Mr Frome said he’d drive Miss Mattie to the station himself.

ACTIVITY 1 AFTER READING

s :EENAISAtall, silent woman, with cold eyes and thin lips. Her hair is grey, and her skin is yellowish. Zeena has a whining voice, and she complains a lot. She loves talking about her own ill health. s -ATTIEISAlively, young woman, with shining eyes and soft lips. Her hair is dark, and her skin is milky white. Mattie has a sweet voice, and she smiles a lot. She loves talking about the beauty of nature. ACTIVITY 2 AFTER READING

Students can complete this letter in different ways. Possible answers might be: Dear Jessie, Please help me, I just don’t know what to do! I’m so in love with Ethan, and I think he feels the same way about me. Last night he brought me home from a dance, and when we stood together in the moonlight, he wanted to kiss me, I’m sure. But I think my cousin Zeena has noticed something, and I’m so afraid that she’ll send me away. Oh, what can I do? Should I tell Ethan that I love him? Or should I keep quiet? Or marry Denis, the shopkeeper’s boring son? Maybe I should leave Starkfield and go away. But where could I go? Oh, Jessie, please write to me soon! Your dear friend, Mattie ACTIVITY 3 AFTER READING

Free writing. Encourage students to discuss Mattie’s dilemma, and perhaps compose their replies working in pairs or small groups.

© Oxford University Press

ACTIVITY 4 AFTER READING

5 R UT H H AL E : Yes, I knew them both . . . it was awful ... 8 N AR R AT O R : Both? Who was the other person? 3 R UT H H AL E : It was Mattie Silver, his wife’s cousin. 6 N AR R AT O R : Was she from Starkfield too? 1 R UT H H AL E : No, she was a Bettsbridge girl. Her father used to own a big company in town, but Mattie didn’t have a dollar in her pocket when Zeena brought her here. 10 N AR R AT O R : What happened to her father’s money?

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ETHAN FROME XXX

ACTIVITY 6 AFTER READING

ACTIVITIES ANSWERS

Two young people were very badly hurt on a coasting slope last Friday evening. The accident happened at about five o’clock on a hillside in Starkfield. Mr Ethan Frome, a Starkfield farmer, and his wife’s cousin, Miss Mattie Silver, were on their way to the station. Mr Frome, who had often coasted before, went down a steep slope, with Miss Silver sitting behind him on the sled. Half way down, the sled crashed into a big tree. Nobody saw the accident. TITLES FOR THE REPORT AFTER READING

Open answers. ACTIVITY 7 AFTER READING

© Oxford University Press

a) Open answers, but number 2 is the most likely for Ruth Hale, who seems to blame Mattie a little (‘All those years with Mattie have destroyed Ethan.’) b) Open answers, but number 4 seems the most likely. The narrator’s reaction to the tragedy was ‘I thought how hard life was for the poor.’ c) Open answers. Encourage discussion.

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