Love of “Roman Fever"

The best part about this story was that, despite its seemingly boring setting, the plot itself was very interesting. In Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever,” she writes about two middle-aged women who are visiting Rome with their daughters. One of the women’s name is Grace Ansley, mother of Barbara. And the other woman is Alida Slade, mother of Jenny. And in the story, there is a bit of a rivalry going on between the women over their daughters as well as over the affections of Delplhin Slade.

At the end of the story, when Ms. Slade reveals that the letter Ms. Ansley received from the Delphin was actually from her, I was shocked. And when Ms. Slade brags that she was able to be with the Delphin for 25 years, Mrs. Ansley responds, “ I had Barbara.” When I first read this line, I was so surprised. What a bombshell at the end! 

I think this story definitely shows that love is a double-edged sword. In almost any Disney princess movie, true love always solves everything. But in “Roman Fever,” love is instead used as an instrument for destruction. Alida loves the Delphin and is afraid of losing him. So, she writes a letter pretending to be Delphin telling Grace to meet him at the Colesseum. It was Alida’s hope that Grace would show up and be dissapointed. Because of her love for Delphin, Alida was willing to wreck her friendship.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and its characters. I believe that Edith Wharton did a wonderful job of brining these characters to life.