Ethan Frome

どんなところでもどんな時代でも、貧乏な人間が生きて行くのは大変だ。イーサン・フロムはマサチュセッツに住む農夫だ。彼は毎日長時間働くが、稼ぎはわずかだ。妻のジーナはやせた白髪まじりの女性で、いつも愚痴をこぼし、気にするのは自分の病気のことだけ。そんなとき、いとこのマティー・シルバーという少女がフロム家に一緒に暮らすことになり、ジーナを手伝い家事をするようになる。彼女の明るい笑顔と笑い声がフロム家に―いや、イーサンの孤独な生活にも―明るさと希望をもたらす。だが、貧乏は逃げられない監獄のようなものだ…。

Life is always hard for the poor, in any place and at any time. Ethan Frome is a farmer in Massachusetts. He works long hours, but his farm makes little money. His wife, Zeena, is a thin, grey woman, always complaining, and only interested in her own ill health. Then Mattie Silver, a young cousin, comes to live with the Fromes, to help Zeena and do the housework. Her bright smile and laughing voice bring light and hope into the Fromes' house - and into Ethan's lonely life. But poverty is a prison from which few people escape...