# Andrew Hale — Ethan Frome character guide

> Andrew Hale in Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Hale, Mr. Hale

**First appearance:** 0002-prologue

## Snapshot

Starkfield's steady builder and Ethan Frome's sometime employer, a man whose contracts and kindnesses quietly measure the distance between village respectability and Frome's stalled life.

## Who they are

Hale belongs to the small circle of Starkfield men whose work and word still carry weight, hiring hands like Ethan for carpentry and framing the town's practical affairs. His dealings with Frome are cordial but bounded by the unspoken rules of a place where everyone knows everyone's decline. He matters because his ordinary transactions with Ethan throw into relief the pride, obligation, and slow erosion that keep Frome tethered to the farm.

## Relationships

### [Mrs. Ned Hale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ethan_frome_se/characters/mrs_ned_hale)

_family_

Andrew Hale is Mrs. Ned Hale's husband, a kind-hearted builder who shows sympathy toward Ethan.

### [Ethan Frome](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ethan_frome_se/characters/ethan_frome)

_social_

Andrew Hale is a sympathetic local builder who offers Ethan credit and kindness, though ultimately unable to save him.

### [Zeena Frome](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ethan_frome_se/characters/zeena_frome)

_social_

Andrew Hale has a polite, businesslike acquaintance with Zeena, interacting mainly through financial transactions.

### [Mrs. Ned Hale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ethan_frome_se/characters/mrs_ned_hale)

_family_

Andrew Hale is Mrs. Ned Hale's husband, a kind-hearted builder who shows sympathy toward Ethan.

## In the story

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ethan_frome_se/chapters/iii)

Andrew Hale is the Starkfield builder to whom Ethan is delivering lumber.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ethan_frome_se/chapters/iv)

Andrew Hale is the builder from whom Ethan considers asking an advance on his lumber load.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ethan_frome_se/chapters/vii)

Andrew Hale is mentioned as the man from whom Ethan expected to receive fifty dollars for lumber, but who never pays under three months.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ethan_frome_se/chapters/viii)

Andrew Hale is mentioned as being home with lumbago, preventing Ethan from asking him for a loan.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ethan_frome_se/characters/andrew_hale
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ethan_frome_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ethan_frome_se/characters