Ethan Frome is the protagonist of the novel. A "ruin of a man," according to The Narrator, he is still a "striking figure." He appears to be tall, though his "strong shoulders" are "bent out of shape." He has blue eyes and brown hair with a streak of light. He has a "powerful look," that is "bleak and unapproachable." Everyone who knows Ethan respects his taciturnity. Ethan is a poor man who is simple, straightforward, and responsible. When The Narrator first glimpses Ethan's face in an unguarded moment, he sees Ethan as a man who " . . . looks as if he (is) dead and in hell. . . .