Narratological Reading of Ethan Frome

This paper aims to discuss the narrative visions of the narrator,Ethan Frome, Harmon Gow and Mrs.Hale in Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome and contends that as far as the interpretation of Zeena is concerned,there exist discrepancies between the narrator s vision and that of Ethan Frome,which suggests that Ethan Frome intends to mislead the reader to ascribe his tragedy to Zeena whereas the root for his tragedy resides in his craving for authority, denied in Zeena yet acknowledged in Mattie.A close scrutiny of the narrative visions of Harmon Gow, Mrs. Hale and the narrator demonstrates that Harmon Gow provides an unbalanced account of Ethan and Zeena, that Mrs. Hale has conflicting views on Ethan, Zeena and Mattie, who receives Mrs. Hale's condemnnation, that the narrator enables the reader to detect Zeena's rebelliousness.