“Since the entirety of the story plays itself out against the backdrop of ‘the great accumulated wreckage of passion and splendor’ in Rome, I am suggesting that Wharton means to put into some relation of the fortunes of civilization and the fortunes of these two families, the Slades and the Ansleys (17). The story insists, first of all, that our own myth of origins -- from which we get all our founding or inaugurating force, our authority -- is inherently arbitrary... Wharton’s fiction, therefore participates in a kind of demystification (destructive) process; both women believe their own inaugural myths about their daughters... Both are wrong about the order of things, and Wharton uncovers a profound emptiness at the heart of history since chance seems to rule.” (685-86)
Bauer, Dale M. “Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever”: A Rune of History.” College English 50.6 (1988): 681-692.
“Just as Alida’s letter is already destroyed before ‘Roman Fever’ begins, so most female writers in Wharton’s fiction are either satirically depicted or dead before the story starts. Moreover, “Roman Fever” makes it terrible clear that Alida’s writing does not belong to her: she plagiarized its plot from the women in Grace’s family, and forged authorship with Delphin’s initials. Alida discovers too late that she cannot control the masculine authorship and authority she has invoked; instead it controls her, even from beyond the grave. Nor can she control her text’s interpretation: Grace is not humiliated by the love letter, as Alida hoped, but treasures its memories for years” (326)
Sweeney, Susan Elizabeth. “Edith Wharton’s Case of Roman Fever.” Wretched Exotic: Essays on Edith Wharton in Europe. New York: P. Lang, 1993. 313–31.
Dale M. Bauer's commentary on Roman Fever makes a very valid point about the destructive process. Destruction seemed to me to be a major theme in the story, especially Alida's plot to get Grace sick and destroy her relationship with Delphin. I especially enjoyed the last line of the story, and it also exemplified the destructive theme; Grace destroyed Alida's ideas and views about her deceased husband by revealing that he was the father of her child, Barbara.
ReplyDeleteBauer's commentary makes sense regarding the process of destruction. Alida's plan of ruining Grace's relationship with Delphin completely backfires. It is not until years later that her plot to get Grace sick gave Grace a child by Delphin instead. If Alida had left well enough alone, Barbara and Jenny would not be half sisters.
ReplyDeleteSweeney's comments helped to clarify the ending of this story for me. I had previously been unsure of how I actually felt about what Alida had done; now I just feel sad.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I feel Bauer's critic is a little bit strange. I can't recall at all any way that Wharton "story insists, first of all, that our own myth of origins -- from which we get all our founding or inaugurating force, our authority -- is inherently arbitrary", and this seems out of place, along with the comment on how "chance seems to rule". Though the comparison of Rome and the lives of the women was not something I had picked up on, and is very interesting.
Bauer's comments on Roman Fever actually explain almost exactly what I thought when I read the story. Instead of first concentrating on the characters and their quirks, I remember being very interested in the location of the story. (Why are they in Rome, of all places?! Aren't they Americans?) The fact that these characters have been to the city of Rome multiple times together over the course of their lives is definitely a key detail to the plot. Any crumbling city could have worked for the setting, but Wharton picked a city that was very symbolic. The Roman empire shown brighter than anything during it's existence, and once it crumbled, it was gone. Although the two women were never the complete best of friends, they were always in rivalry, their relationship had a peak, and once it peaked, it was over.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the ending to this story.
I don’t know who “Sh” is, but in response to him or her: I think what Bauer is saying is that any “authority” of knowledge or action we think we have is unsubstantiated, it is based on assumptions, misinterpretations, and false knowledge. Our “origins” don’t give us any power, it is how we perceive or manipulate them that gives us authority. Therefore: “chance seems to rule”, not reason, especially in history. This is shown by the two women’s assumptions about each other, the letter supposedly written by Delphin and what happened that night at the colosseum.
ReplyDeleteOh, Sh: Shannon
ReplyDeleteI never realized the signifance of Rome as the setting until reading this. After reading Roman Fever, I agree that one Wharton's purposes for writing this short story was to prove that if one meddles, one is more likely to cause distruction for themself rather than the peron they want to sabotage. This is evident when Alida planned to sabotage Grace's relationship with Delphin by forging that letter, but instead Grace had a child by Delphin instead.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but it didnt let me use my yahoo account, the account that i signed up with to post a commment, but Miissingxyou is Olivia Whalen. I followed the blog with oliviarwhalen@yahoo.com but it wasn't working.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of destruction in Roman Fever is indeed present in both the scenery, which figures beautifully as both a romantic location and a melancholic one, and the letter. The letter especially because it was destroyed, because Mrs Slade believed it destroyed Mrs Ansley's hopes, and because in the end the knowledge of it destroyed Mrs Slade's vision of her life and the relationships she'd had.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find most interesting is how Mrs. Slade is secretly jealous of Mrs. Ansley, and the little remarks she keeps making to put her down. For example, when she says that she "always wanted a brilliant daughter... and never quite understood why [she] got an angel instead." Also, she constantly brings up the fact that Ansley had a "delicate throat", trying to remind her of her weaknesses. She seems to be very excited to finally corner Ansley into telling her about her affair... and is shocked when she realizes that instead of giving her guilt for however many years, Ansley has found comfort in the memory.
ReplyDeleteAside from the very prevalent theme of destruction in the story, secrecy is also an important force. Both women have something to hide: Alida Slade fraudulently wrote the letter to her friend and Grace Ansley gave birth to Delphin Slade's illegitimate child, Barbara. These secrets- especially Alida's secret- are foreshadowed when the two women discuss the story of Grace's Great Aunt Harriet.
ReplyDeleteI'd also say that jealously is also a mjor theme. Jealousy leads to destruction of a person, because they waste their time on such trivial things.
ReplyDeleteWharton's short story "Roman Fever" has many tangled themes and morals inside it's plot. The major and most clear theme is destruction. Mrs Slade's plan the sabotage Mrs Ansley ironically turns out the completely opposite way that she had planned. By writing the letter herself (as Delphin) Mrs Slade technically sets up for the birth of Barbara, whom she comments on to Mrs Ansley in her jealousy. The underlying jealousy moral sets the stage for destruction, if it wasn't for Mrs Slade's jealousy towards Mrs Ansely, she would have never wrote the letter, and therefore she would have never told Mrs Ansely to "destroy" her.
ReplyDelete"Roman Fever" contains themes of destruction, deceit, and a minor theme of the desire for a higher social status. Alida intended on destroying Grace's hopes of being with Delphin, and along the way almost made Grace die when Grace became sick with Roman fever. Alida and Grace deceived each other for over twenty-five years of their lives. Alida secretly wrote the letter under Delphin's name, and Grace never told anyone that Barbara was an illegitimate child. When talking of their husbands' deaths, Grace and Alida discuss the social setbacks due to their deaths. Alida admits that his death took her away from the parties and travels she used to go on, and how she misses the compliments she used to get on her fashion at these events. It seems as if she misses the material things more than she misses her husband.
ReplyDeleteIn "Roman Fever", Wharton's character, Mrs. Slade is jealous of Mrs. Ansley's daughter, Barbara. As the two women think back to their days as girls, and reflect on how little they truly know about each other. As the story unfolds, the women discuss a story about Roman fever from their younger years. Mrs. Slade recalls the summer they heard the story was the summer she was engaged to Delphin. As the two discuss the story further, Mrs. Slade admits to writing the note from Delphin that Mrs. Ansley has treasured so dearly. By interfering and trying to cause destruction in Mrs. Ansley's life, Mrs. Slade learns that Barbara, the girl she has always thought so wonderful, was the child of her husband. Mrs. Slade learns that when a person tries to cause trouble, sometimes she gets hurt along the way. And the truth hurts.
ReplyDeleteIn Roman Fever, Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley meet back up in Rome with their two daughters. Mrs. Slade feels that Barbara, is better than her own daughter Jenny in every way. This reflects the rivalry between Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley in their younger years. The letter written by Mrs. Slade was actually the reason had her daughter Barbara, with Delphin as the father.When the truth comes out Mrs. Slade learns that her plan backfired causing more pain to herself then the intended recipient.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the excerpt from Sweeney's essay, the parallels between Roman Fever and Ethan Frome became clear. Both stories end with a twist and souls crushed, and although in Ethan Frome Wharton actually describes the magnitude of the aftermath, the reader is left assuming the same consequence of numbness in Roman Fever. Both stories deal also deal with the taboo topic of cheating and the complete lack of morals tied to it. Alida is similar to Zeena in that they can be depicted as both antagonists and victims. Grace is therefore similar Mattie because of their ability to seem innocent around those they have secretly hurt, and Alida's husband is similar to Frome in their lack of morals and quest for happiness and self-fulfillment.
ReplyDeleteSweeneys comments regarding Roman Fever are based strongly on the themes of destruction and deceit that fill this story. It seems as if most of the events or objects described in Roman Fever symbolize a deeper meaning in society. For instance like Sweeney stated, the fact that Alida's letter already being destroyed almost foreshadows the damaged lives of the female writers in the story.
ReplyDeleteI think that another theme present in "Roman Fever" is the ever-present past. It (the past) always seems to haunt Alida; it's always there to control her emotions and pit her against Grace. When Alida can no longer contain her bad memories of the past, she re-counts them to Grace, in what seems to be an attempt to rid her demons and transfer them to Grace. But Grace counters them with stories of her own past, one of which promises to make the painful past an unwelcome friend of Alida for the rest of her life.
ReplyDeleteI found Bauer's quote about the destruction process in the story interesting. Alida was clearly jealous of Grace her entire life and had her own insecurities about the women. They acted as though they were such good friends but in reality neither knew much about the other. Alida lived her entire life knowing that her "best friend" had been in love with her husband, and Grace lived her whole life knowing that her own daughter was the illegitimate child of Alida's husband. Of course neither women knew the other's secret, but that's what makes the destruction process so clear. Alida wrote the letter to try and drive Grace away from her husband, which in turn backfired for her. What got me the most in this story in the end was that Barbara was actually Delphin's daughter. I almost felt like I should have seen it coming. Seeing as how Alida all along was wondering how Grace and Horace could've produced such a lively girl, and how she was always curious as to why her own daughter wasn't like Barbara.
ReplyDeleteUGH I WROTE IT ALL THEN IT DELETED.
ReplyDeleteIt was kind of unexpected that Grace wasn't ashamed or embarassed. Alida expected her to be because she knew nothing of Grace's response to the letter and her meeting with Delphin. She wasn't just holding onto a letter. I don't think it was so much Grace that Alida was mad at. I think it's just because of the fact that Delphin went to see her. Grace is the easiest one to blame. (as he is dead) But even if he were alive she wouldn't be able to do anything because in the 25 years that they were together he was a sort of prize or trophy to dangle in front of that.
The tables are repeatedly turned in "Roman Fever" and every bomb that was dropped changed who had the upper hand. Grace had the last word. Alida may have won the battle, but Grace won the war. The final image is of Grace descending the stairs with her back faced to Alida, moving on. Alida is left standing alone, trying to keep her composure and pride.
OH. And also Barbara, forgot that in my quick re-post. Duh. He may have died but she has a part of him with her, while all Alida has is a name and a bank account.
ReplyDeleteBauer's comment about how the story is set against the "'great accumulated wreckage of passion and splendor’" of Rome fits with the story nicely. There is a sort of "accumulated wreckage of passion" that occurred there for both Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley. It's cause was a kind of passion and it grew to be far bigger than it was meant to be- it accumulated, in a way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bauer in thinking that Rome is a perfect choice of setting for the story. Rome was the seat of a great and mighty empire that collapsed and crumbled in a similar state to Alida Slade's marriage, and the illusions she held about it. Also as Bauer points out; the myths and origins the woman have assumed to be true about their daughters, could be compared to Rome, the birthplace of Western civilization, which holds a great number of possibly falsified pieces of history itself.
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ReplyDeleteTwo main themes are evident in Edith Wharton's short story, Roman Fever, destruction and secrecy of origins. The former is exemplified through the mentioned "Great-Aunt Harriet" while the latter is evident in the revelation that Grace Ansley penned the love letter to Delphin Slade.
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