Edith Wharton’s novel begins with the first person narrator describing the protagonist, Ethan Frome, whom she sees at the post office of this small New England town. Since she is not a native, Wharton has the narrator speaking with other townspeople who give their own brief bits of Ethan’s story. It is an excellent method of getting in both backstory, setting, and character. One in particular stands out:
It was not that Mrs. Ned Hale felt, or affected, any social superiority to the people about her; it was only that the accident of a finer sensibility and a little more education had put just enough distance between herself and her neighbors to enable her to judge them with detachment. (p. 10)
Then what follows is of course Mrs. Hale’s addition to the story, but it is made with a reluctance that is telling of her own character as much as that of Ethan Frome.
What intrigues me here is the "finer sensibility and a little more education had put just enough distance…" Wharton draws a fine image of her characters that still leaves the reader relying on his own experience to fill in the whole. In this particular instance I immediately was familiar with the demeanor of Mrs. Hale. I’ve met many who consider themselves liberals and swear deep compassion for humanity, but there is a line they draw that is nearly invisible that in encompassing all,yet still serves as a barrier to keep all but the closest relationships out. In other words, the hand is evenly extended to all, as long as hugs aren’t being sought. There is an inner circle, and only a certain group of like-minded, socially equals are allowed in. Other than that, the world is all one. Sort of a long-distance caring.
We all choose our friends and acquaintances. We all tend to set them on levels of sorts. But people like Mrs. Hale likely have only two plateaus on which to perch all of mankind.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology