Roman Fever

Roman Fever is a short story by American writer Edith Wharton. It was first published in Liberty magazine in 1934, and was later included in Wharton's last short-story collection, The World Over^[1].

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Plot Summary

The protagonists are Grace Ansley and Alida Slade, two middle-aged American women who are visiting Rome with their daughters, Barbara Ansley and Jenny Slade. Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade grew up in Manhattan, New York, and were friends from childhood. A romantic rivalry in their youth led Mrs. Slade to nurture feelings of jealousy and hatred against Mrs. Ansley.

In the opening pages of the story, the two women compare their daughters and reflect on each other's lives. Eventually, Mrs. Slade reveals a secret about a letter written to Mrs. Ansley on an earlier visit to Rome, many years ago. The letter was purportedly from Mrs. Slade's fiancé, Delphin, inviting Mrs. Ansley to a romantic rendezvous at the Colosseum. In fact, Mrs. Slade had written the letter, in an attempt to get Mrs. Ansley out of the way of the engagement by disappointing her with Delphin's absence (and, it is implied, to get Mrs. Ansley sick with Roman Fever). Mrs. Ansley is upset at this revelation, but reveals that she was not left alone at the Colosseum—she responded to the letter, and Delphin arrived to meet her. Mrs. Slade eventually states that Mrs. Ansley ought not feel sorry for her, because "I had [Delphin] for twenty-five years" while Mrs. Ansley had "nothing but a letter he didn't write." Mrs. Ansley responds, in the last sentence of the story, "I had Barbara." This implies that Barbara is an illegitimate child she had with Delphin.

Critical Reception

Although critics called special attention to "Roman Fever" immediately after The World Over was published, the story has received comparatively little critical attention since then. However, despite the lack of critical attention, "Roman Fever" has been included in many anthologies of Wharton's work and of American literature^[2].

Related Links

• "Daisy Miller" by Henry James

References