The writing is indeed very beautiful. On the other hand, the story is mega-depressing!
The ending certainly has a remarkable ironic twist with the warning that no matter how we try to embrace and create our romantic illusions, reality is so powerful that those self-created patterns simply can't survive.
I see why she is compared to Hardy--though I think Wharton is actually a better writer than he. I'm glad I read
Ethan Frome but I don't know that I want to explore that bleak vision any further.