"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," wrote Henry David Thoreau in his novel Walden. This statement encompasses perhaps all men in that it speaks the basic essence of all men's lives. The novel, Ethan Frome, is a prime example of a life that is certainly "lived" in desperation. The protagonist, Ethan, is a man whose life has always been tragic, from beginning to end. Ethan is taciturn, he is mysterious, and he seems to have a grave countenance that is worse than one of a dead man. He is one of the dark secrets of Starkfield, and even those who would say volumes about others are reticent when it comes to the topic of Ethan Frome. The tragedy in his life is neither that it is so brutal, nor is it because he is stuck in the cruel hands of fate, but simply that he...