I
find it interesting that in most stories, many of the readers tend to take the
side of certain characters and stick with them until the very end of the story.
In the case of Edith Wharton's short story, Roman Fever, I from the start
took the side of the quiet Mrs. Ansley. The self-centered and quietly malevolent Mrs.
Slade from the beginning struck a chord in my mind with her disrespectful
inner-dialogue. I soon realized that Mrs. Ansley was hiding something from Mrs.
Slade and the other woman was gradually becoming aware of her reluctance and
dreamy state of being.
This
discovery on Mrs. Slade’s part only seemed to irritate her until, after many
attempts of conversation on their past together, she finally broke and
confessed what seemed to be gnawing at her conscience. “You do understand? I
found out—and I hated you, hated you. I knew you were in love with Delphin—and I
was afraid; afraid of you, of your quiet ways, your sweetness…your…well, I wanted
you out of the way, that’s all. Just for a few weeks; just till I was sure of
him. So in a blind fury I wrote that letter…I don’t know why I am telling you
now” (pg. 785).
Mrs.
Slade sees how this affects Mrs. Ansley and she both regrets and relishes how
it affects her friend. Even though it was wrong what Mrs. Ansley did by meeting
with the man her friend was to marry, I couldn’t help smiling and saying to myself “Bravo!” at her comeback
to Mrs. Slade’s hurtful declaration of having won Delphin for 25 years and at
her having nothing. “Mrs. Ansley was silent again. At length she turned toward
the door of the terrace. She took a step, and turned back, facing her
companion. ‘I had Barbara,’ she said, and began to move ahead of Mrs. Slade
toward the stairway” (pg. 787). This was brilliant and made the trouble-making Mrs.
Slade sway on her mighty pedestal.
[332 word count]
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