Acclaimed author Edith Wharton was born in 1862, and published her first acclaimed novel, Ethan Frome, in 1911. During her lifetime, Wharton was inspired by numerous events that took place over the periods in which each of her novels was written. When Ethan Frome was written, the world was slowly making transition to a more modern way of living. In January, the first Monte Carlo race took place, the first aerial photograph was taken, and Glenn Curtiss flew the first successful seaplane. In June of that year, IBM began creating the earliest stages of the computer (Wikipedia).

Leading up to the time when she wrote her first novel, Wharton was influenced by numerous political and social events. During the early 1900s, women's rights began to surface as the economy began to spawn. This was an awe-inspiring occurrence because women were limited in social and political activity as a whole (First...