preview

Dynamic Characters In Roman Fever By Edith Wharton

Decent Essays

What would be expected from the personality of a woman who had an affair with her best friend’s fiance? Certainly not a dull mother who enjoys knitting, as is the case in the short story “Roman Fever.” Edith Wharton effectively makes use of direct and indirect presentation to create two round, yet static characters in her short story to escalate the powerful and surprising climax.
Edith Wharton uses mostly direct presentation to describe Alida Slade and Grace Ansley in the beginning of her short story; “Roman Fever”; however also successfully incorporates indirect presentation to create even more realistic characters. In the first several paragraphs of the story the author tells readers “straight out, by exposition...what the characters are like” (Arp 162); for example, she mentions Mrs. Slade’s “vigorous black eyebrows” (Wharton 1) and “small determined nose”(Wharton 1). The author also divulges that Mrs. Ansley is “far less sure than her companion of …show more content…

Slade and Mrs. Ansley create a more intriguing and surprising climax. Both women are ”complex and many-sided” (Arp 163) because of all of the small details the author gives readers. One of the first things that readers learn is that they are upper class, New York American citizens; “two American ladies of ripe but well-cared-for middle age” (Wharton 1). An interesting part of Mrs. Slade we learn about is that she depended on her husband when her young son died; “She had fought through that agony because her husband was there” (Wharton 3). This gives Mrs. Slade a completely different side because previously the reader believes she is confident, independent and sure of herself; as shown by her strong assertions. Without that detail, we might think of Mrs. Slade as flat. If the characters had “only one or two predominant traits” (Arp 163), the ending wouldn’t be nearly as powerful or unexpected; as readers wouldn’t be as connected with and sure of the women’s distinct

Get Access