Analysis Of Edith Wharton 's ' Roman Fever '

“Roman Fever” is successful in revealing a darker side of interpersonal interactions and the lust for the role of the superior in relationships. It conveys this message by showing the transfer of

… They interfered with the perfect ugliness of the place; they were too beautiful; they said too much that we could not understand; they did not make sense.” This quote exemplifies a clear depiction of the ignorance of immaturity and a brilliant use of imagery. Collier creates the scene using descriptive words and attaches them to the reader's mind, one can see the torrid flowers and disfigured house. These images capture the author's feelings of disarray and discombobulation, which all contribute to Eugenia Collier's voice.  These feelings lead to the character uprising to adulthood.

His image was formerly of the utmost importance to him: he arrived late to the Opera because it was “the thing” to do (Wharton 4) and “few things [seemed to him] more awful than an offense against ‘Taste’” (Wharton 12). When Ellen, the black sheep of the Mingott family, made an appearance at the Opera, Archer at first becomes annoyed that this “strange foreign woman” was attracting negative attention to the box of his betrothed, May Welland, and agrees with fellow high society onlooker, Sillerton Jackson, that the Mingotts should not have “tried it on” (Wharton 10). But, upon spending time with Ellen, Archer’s pretentiousness begins to dull and his self-alienation from the rules of society begins. During a dinner with Sillerton Jackson, Archer defends Ellen and even goes so far as to say that “Women ought to be free – as free as we are,” though he was painfully aware of the “terrific consequences” his words could bring (Wharton 34).

Roman Fever" is an outstanding example of Edith Wharton's theme to express the subtle nuances of formal upper class society that cause change underneath the pretense of stability. Wharton studied what actually made their common society tick, paying attention to unspoken signals, the histories of relationships, and seemingly coincidental parallels. All of these factors contribute to the strength and validity of the story of Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley.

“The smaller and paler one shook her head” (Wharton 116). “The other lady, who was fuller and higher in color…” (Wharton 116). These two sentences show us that Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade are very different from each other. Mrs. Grace Ansley is a quiet, reserved, pale, small woman (Wharton 116). In turn, Mrs. Alida Slade is a loud, outgoing, large, articulate woman (Wharton 116). The two women seem to be complete opposites of each other in

Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever” and Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” are the result of two “realistic” writers wishing to change the perspectives of how women should be viewed and treated. In “The Story of an Hour,” Chopin writes about Mrs. Mallard who is a woman desperate for her own thoughts and identity, at the time this concept was untraditional and not accepted. Like Chopin, in “Roman Fever” Wharton calls emphasis to the hidden secrets and feelings held by women at the time. In her writing, Chopin uses various literary devices to play an important role in conveying her message, these devices are also used by Wharton in “Roman Fever.” Irony is a predominant literary device used in both of these works, for example when Chopin states “When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of joy that kills” (1611). This is ironic because the reader knows she didn’t die of joy, but rather from seeing the glimpse of her husband and knowing she had lost the freedom she so desired. The first sign of irony Wharton uses is in the title, “Roman Fever,” which is an old name for malaria. However, that’s only the surface meaning as the deeper meaning symbolizes Mrs. Slade’s disease-like jealousy she has hidden for years over Mrs. Ansley. Both Edith Wharton and Kate Chopin were very influential authors of the time and brought out suppressed issues in their works to be acknowledged and challenged by society.

In “ Roman Fever”, Mrs. Slade represented determinism in the duration of the story through her jealousy and similar emotions. Her thoughts and actions in the story towards her lifelong friend has traces of jealousy and bewilderment throughout the story. For example when reminiscing on the days of their youth in Rome, she realized that, “ There was no one of whom she had less right to think unkindly than of Grace Ansley. Would she never cure herself of envying her!” (Wharton 6). Mrs. Slade talks about how her life is boring and now that her husband has passed away, her life is even more dreary. She envious of the type of daughter

Societies’ Masks Situational irony occurs when the actual result of an action is different from what was expected. Using situational irony, Edith Wharton highlights the theme that appearances can be deceiving in “Roman Fever.” She does this with her portrayal of Grace Ansley and Alida Slade, the jealousy of Alida for Grace’s daughter Barbara, and the backfired attempt Alida made to keep her fiancé away from Grace. Although acquainted with each other most of their lives, Wharton states, “these two ladies visualized each other, each through the wrong end of her little telescope” (1699). Alida has a greater presence than Grace, “fuller, and higher in color, with a small determined nose supported by vigorous black eyebrows” (1697) and had a busy social life until her husband’s death.

The polar opposite of romanticism, realism emphasizes reality by involving notions that truthfully reflect, depict, and relate "life as it is". Edith Wharton's, "Roman Fever", exemplifies this literary movement, for it realistically demonstrates common encounters for women in society. Wharton tells the story of two middle- age women constrained relationship built on a thin line between love and jealousy. The "friendship" between Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley is a hypocrisy and a façade, for both women

Most people would ask why Alida Slade waited years to reveal she forged a letter as Delphin to Grace Ansley. Mrs.Slade grew tired of how high of a pedal stool Grace seemed to be on. In the story “Roman Fever”, Alida Slade was married to Delphin and felt this was an advantage she had over Grace Ansley. Mrs.Slade had an aggressive urge to have control of Grace Ansley’s happiness by being deceitful and admitting she forged the letter on Delphins behalf. Alida Slade had built up aggression for Grace Ansley, which persuaded her to write the letter.

The short story, “Roman Fever” illustrates the shocking relationship between two women, Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade, by a chance meeting in Rome. As the story opens the two women are sitting on the terrace of a Roman restaurant that has an astonishing view of the Colosseum and other Roman ruins. While the women sit in silence and enjoy the tranquil view from the terrace they notice their daughters down below running off to spend a romantic evening with two young men. This triggers Mrs. Slades memories of her and Mrs. Ansley’s quixotic adventures in Rome as young adults and their first encounter with “Roman fever”. Wharton uses the term Roman fever to illustrative the women’s past relationship that is embedded with destruction,

Edith Wharton’s short story “Roman Fever” depicts the dynamic between two life-long friends as they reminisce about their youth. The events in the plot gradually

Edith Wharton, author of Roman Fever, illustrates self realization within a person through someone else. The story follows two women, Grace Ansley and Alida Slade and their daughters, Barbara Ansley and Jenny Slade. As the story continues the author gives the reader insight of the women past to their future and how their personalities changed throughout a few obstacles in their lives; especially through Mrs. Alida Slade. On page 123, Mrs. Slade points out how “different things Rome stands for to each generation.” Her grandmother went through the ‘Roman Fever’ era, her mother went through the “sentimental dangers” while her daughter is missing out by not taking risks. Mrs. Slade sees an increase of dullness in herself that she does not want

“Roman Fever”, written by Edith Wharton, is a short story with an unpredictable ending. Two “middle aged” widows, Grace Ansley and Alida Slade, have come across each other unexpectedly in a Roman restaurant. The outcome of envy and jealousy on each other began with wanting to conquer one man, Delphin Slade. A conversation has begun once the daughters “leave the young things to their knitting”, later leaving the reader astonished (Wharton 1). In “Roman Fever”, the strained friendship results from the envy and jealousy of one another.

“The two ladies, who had been intimate since childhood, reflected how little they knew each other”. This is how, author, Edith Wharton shows the relationship of two characters, Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade, in the short story “Roman Fever.” These two women who are supposed to be friends, led envious lives of each other, and because of the way they lived they were very contrasting and conflicting characters. In the end, I believe Mrs. Slade was guiltier for her actions and in fact the whole incident would have never happened if it weren’t for her.