Chapter II Practice Quiz — Ethan Frome
by Edith Wharton — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter II
Where is Ethan standing as the dance ends at the beginning of Chapter II?
He is hiding behind the projecting storm-door of the church hall, watching the crowd file out.
Who offers Mattie a ride home after the dance, and in what vehicle?
Denis Eady offers her a ride in his father's cutter, which he has waiting with the roan colt.
How does Mattie respond to Denis Eady's offer of a ride?
She initially seems to waver, but then darts away up the slope, calling back "Good-night! I'm not getting in."
What activity does Ethan propose to Mattie during their walk home?
He suggests they go coasting together down the Corbury road the following night if there is a moon.
What does Mattie fear when Ethan confronts her about dancing with Denis?
She misinterprets his jealousy as a warning that Zeena is dissatisfied and plans to send Mattie away.
What is unusual about the kitchen door when Ethan and Mattie arrive home?
The key that Zeena always leaves under the mat is missing, which has never happened before.
Who opens the kitchen door, and what reason does she give for being awake?
Zeena opens the door and says she felt too mean (ill) to sleep.
What does Ethan's inability to express his feelings reveal about his character?
It shows he is emotionally inarticulate. His most eloquent response to Mattie's distress is the gruff phrase "Come along," repeated twice.
How does Denis Eady's personality contrast with Ethan's?
Denis is socially confident, boastful, and forward with women, while Ethan is shy, tongue-tied, and passive in expressing his desires.
What does Mattie's plea "You'd ought to tell me, Ethan Frome" reveal about her situation?
It reveals her economic vulnerability as a dependent poor relation who fears being cast out with nowhere to go.
How is Zeena physically described when she appears at the door?
She is tall and angular, clutching a quilt to her flat breast, with a puckered throat, high-boned face, and hair in crimping pins, lit harshly from below by a lamp.
What dark thought flashes through Ethan's mind when he sees the dead cucumber vine?
He thinks "If it was there for Zeena," momentarily imagining his wife's death and the freedom it would bring.
How does the Frome graveyard embody the theme of entrapment in this chapter?
The headstones usually taunt Ethan with "We never got away—how should you?" but his love for Mattie temporarily transforms them into symbols of belonging rather than imprisonment.
What central conflict does Ethan experience throughout Chapter II?
He is torn between his passionate desire for Mattie and his sense of duty and obligation to his wife Zeena.
How does miscommunication function as a theme during the walk home?
Ethan's jealous questions about Denis are misread by Mattie as signs she will be dismissed, showing how their inability to speak openly leads to painful misunderstanding.
What does Mattie's whispered response "Where'd I go, if I did?" suggest about freedom and dependence?
It reveals that Mattie's attachment to the Frome household is driven partly by economic necessity, not just affection, highlighting the limited options for women without independent means.
What literary device does Wharton use when describing the dead cucumber vine as "like the crape streamer tied to the door for a death"?
This is a simile that also functions as foreshadowing, comparing the dead vine to a funeral decoration and hinting at the tragedy to come.
How does pathetic fallacy operate in the winter landscape during the walk home?
The frozen silence, cracking snow, and crashing branches mirror the characters' suppressed emotions and the coldness of the world that confines them.
What is ironic about Ethan feeling comforted by the family gravestones?
The graves that once symbolized his entrapment now feel reassuring because he imagines Mattie beside him forever—yet this "comfort" confirms he will never escape Starkfield.
How does Wharton use contrast at the end of the chapter?
She juxtaposes Mattie's flushed cheeks and cherry scarf with Zeena's angular frame, puckered throat, and false teeth, visually reinforcing the opposition between vitality and decay.
What does "irresolutely" mean in the context of Mattie twirling her scarf?
It means in an uncertain or hesitant manner, showing that Mattie is momentarily undecided about whether to accept Denis Eady's offer.
What does "repugnant" mean when Ethan finds it "peculiarly repugnant" to let Mattie see him follow Zeena upstairs?
It means extremely distasteful or offensive. Ethan is revolted by the idea of Mattie witnessing his marital intimacy with Zeena.
What does "loutish" mean when Ethan feels "heavy and loutish"?
It means clumsy and uncouth. Ethan feels socially awkward and graceless, as he did during his student days.
Who says "We never got away—how should you?" and what does it represent?
No one literally speaks it. Ethan imagines these words written on the family headstones, representing the deterministic force that keeps Fromes trapped in Starkfield.
What is the significance of Ethan's thought "We'll always go on living here together, and some day she'll lie there beside me"?
It reveals Ethan's fantasy of a permanent life with Mattie, but it is deeply ironic since "lying beside him" in the graveyard implies death, not the happy future he envisions.
What does Mattie mean when she says "Where'd I go, if I did?"
She means she has no alternative home or income. As a penniless orphan taken in by relatives, leaving the Fromes would leave her destitute.