Vocabulary Group 7 and 8

Question 0

Blithe

Answer 0

Free-spirited; carefree

The dance that Mattie Silver attended was very blithe and casual, while Ethan Frome was watching her dance.

Question 1

Abstemious

Answer 1

Self denying; refraining from indulging

When going on therapeutic excursions, Zeena often was not abstemious when spending money.

Question 2

Crepuscular

Answer 2

Active at dawn and dusk

Ethan Frome can be compared to a crepuscular animal that is always working, since he has a tough job of caring for the farm and the lumber mill.

Question 3

Enunciation

Answer 3

Clear pronunciation; accent; articulation

Ethan most likely did not possess good enunciation, for he did not pursue higher education due to his father’s death.

Question 4

Headstrong

Answer 4

Stubborn; willful

Most women in Ethan Frome’s time were not very headstrong in society, since they always depended on men for their money and wealth and had no political rights.

Question 5

Lackluster

Answer 5

Dull; monotonous; bland

Ethan, after his mother died, personally believed that life would be lackluster unless he married Zeena, which he eventually did.

Question 6

Objective

Answer 6

Unbiased; not subjective

Ethan Frome had objective judgement, since he did not allow his feelings for Mattie to hinder his fair mindset that he cannot lie to anyone, even Zeena.

Question 7

Pliable

Answer 7

Flexible; not stubborn

When Mattie Silver and Denis Eady were dancing, the pliable properties of their bodies were shown in their movements.

Question 8

Rescind

Answer 8

Retract; repeal

While working, Ethan desired that he could rescind his decision to not kiss Mattie on their way back home the previous night.

Question 9

Temper

Answer 9

To moderate; soften

Due to the coldness of Zeena’s personality and her own illness, Mattie tempered the atmosphere in the Frome household, because of her youth and appeal to Ethan.

Question 10

Abstruse

Answer 10

Difficult to understand; obscure

Ethan’s gradual attraction to Mattie was kept abstruse to Zeena, even though Zeena seems suspicious of Ethan’s secrets.

Question 11

Blunderbuss

Answer 11

A clumsy person

Mattie obviously was not a blunderbuss while she danced, as Ethan was observing her graceful movements.

Question 12

Cringe

Answer 12

Recoil; flinch; shy away

Ethan’s mind cringed at lying, and this is apparent when Ethan is determined to pursue an early payment with Andrew Hale, since he told Zeena that he was going to do that.

Question 13

Envenom

Answer 13

To cause bitterness and bad feeling

Ethan Frome was envenomed by thoughts of Denis Eady and jealousy was the result, because he loved Mattie.

Question 14

Hedonism

Answer 14

Self indulgence; pleasure-seeking

Zeena, while she was away from Ethan on trips, practiced hedonism, due to her buying of expensive objects on these trips.

Question 15

Laconic

Answer 15

Using few words; brief; to the point

Ethan Frome is a laconic person imprisoned in silence, for he is a man of little words, especially with Zeena being sickly.

Question 16

Oblique

Answer 16

Indirect; slanting

When Ethan assembled the broken pieces of the pickle dish, he made sure not to let it appear as oblique.

Question 17

Plumage

Answer 17

Feathers of a bird

Ethan Frome never encountered the plumage of a bird in Starkfield, Massachusetts, where he dwelled.

Question 18

Resignation

Answer 18

Acceptance of fate

As Ethan observes the gravestone of the dead Ethan Frome and his wife, he shows resignation in his thoughts, since he himself ponders that he and Zeena could inevitably share the same fate.

Question 19

Tenacious

Answer 19

Stubborn; resolute; holding firm to a purpose

When his father died and his mother fell ill, Ethan Frome was tenacious in his care of his family’s property and finances, and this is seen when he cares so much that he does not continue his college education.