"In business and politics a man must carve and maul his way through men to get to be King of the Mountain. Once there, he can be great and kind - but he must get there first."

The title of this book is a link to Shakespeare's Richard III - which opens with "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York; and all the clouds that lowered upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried." This is (future king) Richard celebrating an upturn in his family's fortunes - basically saying that our dark days are behind us (winter) and the future is now turning bright. It begins his accession to the throne, which he briefly attains, through murder, manipulation, and treachery.

The Winter of Our Discontent's main character, Ethan Allen Hawley, makes a similar shift to achieve material desires. At the start of the novel, Ethan is a moralistic, but ordinary, man. Like his father and grandfather before him, Ethan is fair and honest in a world that has increasingly become materialistic and corrupt. He is married with two kids, working as a clerk at a grocery store his family used to own. He failed early at business - losing the grocery store and what was left of his family's land in the town (except his house) - which created a chip on his shoulder that everyone in town seems to want to wedge deeper. His family harps on him about their lack of money and status in the town. The town banker questions what Ethan is doing working as a clerk. Ethan's boss stresses business prowess and the need to "look after number one." A local vender even offers a bribe and kickback to Ethan for some business, as "everybody's got a right to make a buck." Ethan is an outlier in the town his family essentially founded - as the old is constantly being moved out for the new, and Ethan is stuck looking into the past.

Ethan begins to tire of being the town doormat - and like most of the town before him, begins to break down and rationalize that morality is relative. He asks if "the eaters (are) more immoral than the eaten? In the end all are eaten - all - gobbled up by the earth, even the fiercest and the most crafty." He questions what one gains by being a moral individual, when we all share the same fate. With the help of an opportunistic amateur fortune-teller, Ethan rebuilds himself in efforts to capture the respect of and successes of those around him - like a snake "changing its skin, part dusty and ragged and part fresh and new." He falls in line with those around him - letting his animalistic nature control his behavior.

He is able to make this change naturally, and he gains success and wealth outwardly but finds that he has morally depleted himself in the process. He manipulates his childhood friend, now a drunk, into giving Ethan his (very valuable) land in exchange for enough money to drink himself to death. He reports his boss (the grocery store owner) to the government as an illegal immigrant, so he can take back ownership of the store. He even contemplates robbing a bank before fate intercedes. All these actions are rationalized by Ethan, as "all men are moral, only their neighbors are not." These actions let him achieve the wealth and status that he feels he's been missing, but he finds it unsatisfying given what he had to give up. Ethan realizes that even in a relative world, there are still acceptable and unacceptable moral standards for oneself.

Ethan is finally both taken over the edge and then brought back by the future - his children. His son, Allen, has inherited the same moral standards of those around him, having plagiarized his essay in an essay contest. Ethan is disgusted - and at this point realizes his hypocrisy - that while he has justified immorality within himself (due to relative moralism), he finds the same behavior in others detestable. His daughter, Ellen, saves Ethan by representing moralistic hope in the future - a light that has not gone out, and in the end, Ethan puts his own needs aside in order to provide hope for the next generation.

A good story that underlines what Steinbeck considered the "moral flabbiness" spreading from corporate America to everyday American life during the 50s (and 60s). Through Ethan we experience the collapsing of a moral man into the relative morals that has overtaken everyday life. The message Steinbeck is sending is a relevant one - that no matter what relevant morals are prevalent in society, it is up to the individual not to fall into a relative moral trap, but to be guided by a constant set of absolute morals.

The weakness of the novel is in its characters and relationships, which are lacking in my opinion. The novel's characters, beyond Ethan, are trivial and not well developed - seeming to only be there to prove a certain point. Part of this probably stems from the fact that most of the book is told from Ethan's point of view - but even he appears to be lacking something, specifically in his relationships. His only connection is with his past - he has no connection with his wife or his kids - their interactions seem contrived. The only connection he makes is at the end - through the talisman, with his daughter - but it seems like a reach given their prior lack of depth. The relationships lacked to me - maybe this was how Steinbeck envisioned Ethan, but I thought his character (and others) could have been filled out better.

A lot of criticism of this book also stems from comparing it to his other works (mainly Grapes of Wrath) - which I have not read, but now plan to. I think that is a little unfair though - this book stands on its own, depicting its period with universal moral themes, and delivers its intended message.

The Hawley family is "Discontent". Ethan Hawley is working as a grocery clerk in the store he previously owned. The store now belongs to Marullo, an Italian immigrant who tries to teach Ethan what makes a successful businessman. Even Mr. Baker, the banker, has advice for Ethan: he tries to teach him how to be a good investor. It seems that everyone has an opinion on how Ethan Hawley can bring respect back to his family name. His wife is restless and doesn't like the fact that they are poor and living in a town where they were once respected. Ethan's son wants to go on television and get rich quick, his adolescent daughter is too secretive for his liking.

Steinbeck's protagonist, Ethan Allen Hawley, is a moral individual who has always done the right thing. This novel is set in New Baytown, a fictitious town near Long Island, a town that operates within a realm of corruption. Yet things have operated that way for so long that no one remembers that it is corrupt anymore. Ethan's family feels that he is too ethical for his own good. He has to choose between his current morals and adapting the definition of his morality.

Steinbeck captures a nation that is growing economically but bankrupt morally. Where this novel differs from other fall from grace novels is that the central character observes himself as a third party and slides down the slippery slope knowing full well the consequences. Steinbeck offers redemption in the form or Marullo, on being deported he gives the grocery store to Ethan Hawley. This happens just when Ethan is about to rob the bank.

A short novel worthy of praise addresses moral questions that really make you stop and think; the dialogue is brilliant.The characters are clever and witty, but at times I found the plot was very slow.

John Steinbeck shows true artistry of dialogue in this book set in New England in the 1950s. The protagonist, Ethan Allen Hawley, conveys every bit of his is misfortune (or missed fortune, as the case may be) and everyman, grocery store clerk persona in his words along with something deeper, darker, and perhaps undetectable to one who isn't privy to what haunts his mind at night. He is a delightful character, despite his self-indulgence. Although the plot is slow and relies heavily on somewhat unbelievable coincidences, the story is chock-full of brilliant dialogue. You can practically see the scenes in black and white in your mind with a Jimmy Stewart-esque Ethan tapping out the language in a beautiful staccato song of times gone by.

There are NON-PENGUIN versions listed here; this specific listing is for a Penguin Classics version of "The Winter of our Discontent". You could have people asking for refunds from sellers who have errantly listed the non-Penguin version.

If the sellers are listing non-Penguin versions then they're liable. Misrepresentation!

As I was reading The Winter of Our Discontent there was something about Ethan Hawley's character that reminded me of Willy Loman, Arthur Miller's tragic hero in his play Death of a Salesman. In Miller's work, Loman is a salesman who has lost touch with reality, and always is after what success is about, as he imagines talking to his dead brother Ben to try to get the answers to life. A man who was probably most successful in his daydreams than real life, Willy Loman might be considered an underachiever or loser by some, but there is a certain sympathy we carry for him. I bring up this character because Ethan, in The Winter of Our Discontent, has some of these same qualities, although he is not established like Loman (even in his own musings or dreams), and more glaringly, he is not as likeable or forgivable. Ethan also strives to gain a piece of the American dream, as he comes from strong family roots in New England, and works as a clerk in the town's local grocery store. Feeling the pressure from his wife and two kids, he wants to move upward in the world and be able to provide the wealth and comforts that make a father a success. He wants to carry on the family legacy with pride, and attain the status that makes him a success in his own mind. In this way, Ethan Hawley is a man with ambition; however, Macbeth was ambitious too. The crisis of conflict that Hawley ultimately experiences is that he gives in to moral standards to become "someone" in the world, which means setting aside morals, friends, and conscientiousness in hopes of attaining this status. Much like a Shakespeare tragic hero, or Willy Loman, he continues onward, attributing all things to fate, but ultimately has to come face to face with himself.

Hawley makes several key decisions that ultimately affect those close to him negatively. He loans money to his childhood friend Danny, a town drunk, to supposedly help him get some help with his drinking, but knowing full-well that he will drink himself to death with the money. He also gets him to use his own property as collateral if he shouldn't pay it back. His boss, who once gives him the advise to "look after number one," is deported after Ethan reports him to authorities; once this take place, the store becomes Ethan's, and he is no longer "just a clerk", but owner. Hawley also has plans of robbing a store in his mind, and is only stopped just short of doing this. One ironic aspect is when Ethan's son, Allen, plagiarizes on his "I Love America" essay and is scolded; just as Ethan has cheated the system to get ahead, his son has followed in his footsteps, yet only his son gets reprimanded for it. Ethan seems to legitimize his own actions: "Strength and success--they are above morality, above criticism...In effect no crime is committed unless a criminal is caught" (187).

Unlike many of Steinbeck's novels, this one uses a good deal of inner character monologue to reveal the protagonist's train of thought. In that way, the writing style is not typical of the simplistic narration that Steinbeck often uses, and sometimes there is more to what Ethan is thinking or doing than it actually seems. Some have both praised and criticized Steinbeck for using characters to project aspects of human morality, and The Winter of Our Discontent, his last novel, is no exception. While I didn't enjoy this novel as much as some of his other stuff, there are flashes of exceptional writing. For any Steinbeck fans, this is a novel that is a bit different than the others in that we are taken away from the California setting, and into the character's point of view.