"I began to see what life there--or rather its negation--must have been in Ethan Frome's young manhood."

One could argue that the principal character in Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome is not Ethan himself, nor Zenobia, nor even Mattie Silver, but is in fact snow, in all its coldness and beauty. At least that it the way it feels to your blogger, who, though all would no doubt attest is usually more like Mattie ("her slim young throat and the brown wrist no bigger than a child's..."), today feels very much more Zenobia-esque ("I've got my shooting pains so bad ...").

This change, which one hopes will be temporary, could be due to the fact that the Berkshires has been completely transformed into Starkfield today: "I looked out of my window into a thick snow-fall. The height of the white waves massed against the garden-fence and along the wall of the church showed that the storm must have been going on all night,and that the drifts were likely to be heavy in the open. ... This time the wind did not cease with the return of the snow. Instead, it sprang up to a gale which now and then, from a tattered sky, flung pale sweeps of sunlight over a landscape chaotically tossed."


If one appears grumpy, then perhaps the fact that, even though your blogger had her posh frock ready for a trip to New York City with other, more prescient Mounties (who sensibly left Tuesday), the weather meant she was unable to attend The Mount's 2010 Season Preview at the New York School of Interior Design. She is not bitter, however, no sir! Give her ice, snow, smoking fireplaces, and possible electical outages over champagne brunches any day! In any case, The Mount's new season should prove to be the most diverse and interesting yet and will more than compensate for a little wintry weather!

If one is to be snowed in for long, and the electricity holds, there are always computer games to be played. Having just purchased Dante's Inferno, and always on the lookout for more games based on classic literature, one is thrilled by the idea of Ethan Frome: Sled Ride to Hell ! One believes that it would be a guaranteed hit, and the filmmakers showcased recently could make the film based on the game based on the book! When is our idea of a survival horror game based on Kerfol going to be picked up?