In many stories written about or during the 1800's, it is not uncommon to see serving people as characters. During this era, young girls were often brought into households to tend to the "dirty work" that their masters were too proud or too frail to do themselves. As a result of being servants, these girls were looked down upon and often not even seen as people. Serving was nothing less than degrading. In Edith Wharton's novel, Ethan Frome, Mattie Silver breaks all the rules about how hired people are seen, how they act and how they are treated. It is true that she comes into her situation with all the qualities of a stereotypical maid; but by looking at the way Ethan regards Mattie, the way Mattie sees herself, and through the twist at the end, it is clear to see how Mattie defies the norm.
As soon as Mattie settles into Starkfield, she ignites a spark of youthful exuberance in the dreary town. Once Ethan finds himself preoccupied with love for Mattie, all expectations of her to become a mere humble maid are abolished. Because Ethan is unable to communicate his feelings to Mattie, his heart is clouded with pent up adoration that brings him to do anything for the girl. Zeena often expresses her disappointment in the quality of Mattie's housework. Ethan ".did his best to supplement her unskilled efforts, getting up earlier than usual to light the kitchen fire, carrying in the wood overnight, and neglecting the mill for the farm that he might help her about the house during the day. He even crept down on Saturday nights to scrub the kitchen floor after the women had gone to bed." (32). It is unheard of for a master to act in such a way to please his servant. One can conceive that Ethan would hardly do such a thing for his own wife, who is sick. "All his life was lived in the sight and sound of Mattie Silver, and he could no longer conceive of its being otherwise" (35). Ethan's uses the fact of Mattie being Zeena's cousin as an excuse for his overly kind behavior toward her.