Ethan Brand is introduced in the short story "Ethan Brand" as a normal looking man, nothing special about his abnormal physical appearance. "A man in a coarse, brown, country made suit of clothes, tall and thin, with the staff and heavy shoes of a wayfarer" (233). Although he is describe as normal, there is still something that shocks the child about Ethan Brand. "There is something in the man's face which he was afraid to look …showed first 75 words of 261 total…

…showed last 75 words of 261 total…After Bartram and the child go to sleep, Ethan Brand uncovers the "Unpardonable Sin." Since he found this horrible, unforgivable sin, he could not live, and burn himself to death. After Bartram and the child wake to find Ethan is gone the child says, "the sky and mountains all seem glad of it" (242). When they discover that he was burnt to death, they look at his heart, and ponder if it was made of limestone.