Of the two main characters in "Roman Fever," Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade, whom do you think is the most hateful? Do you sympathize with either woman? Why or why not?
In Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever,” both Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade are portrayed as incredibly hateful, jealous, conniving women who, under the guise of friendship, secretly covet one another’s lives, looks and accomplishments and strive to covertly undermine their intimacy with each other.
It is ironic that the two women are considered friends as they unexpectedly meet in Rome and reacquaint themselves while their daughters enjoy the amusements that the city has to offer. As they reminisce about times gone by, it becomes apparent by their thoughts that the writer intertwines in the story that they have an unbelievable animosity towards each other that they have disguised throughout the years. Living across the street from one another in the same city for many years, and keeping tabs on every aspect of one another’s lives, Mrs. Slade admittedly made fun of her alleged good friend without care for the feelings of her old confidante, wishing to leave the view of her apartment behind in exchange for the more exciting environment of the speakeasies. As they make up lost time in a Roman restaurant overlooking the city, each woman secretly evaluates they other’s daughter, scrutinizing the girls for even the slightest of flaws, and quietly and casually jeopardizing the other’s child.
In the course of their conversation, the two begin to unravel bits of the past that they have hidden from one another over the years like dirt that is continually swept under the carpet rather than properly cleaned and removed. Mrs. Slade, seeking to uncover her competition’s past sin, reveals that the love letter Mrs. Ansley received under the supposed penmanship of her then fiancé Delphin Slade planning a rendezvous in the Forum one evening was not truly from him, but rather from herself. As Mrs. Ansley became sick after this scheme was carried out, Mrs. Slade was surprised to discover that Mrs. Ansley had not hidden waiting in the cold for her cleverly crafted lover, but rather that, having replied to the forged letter, Delphin Slade was there and waiting for her in the chilly Forum. In justification of actions and in an attempt to once again obtain the upper hand, Mrs. Slade announces that the whole scheme was merely a joke, and that after all, she was the one who had Mr. Slade for twenty-five years while Mrs. Ansley only had him for one night. In her silently spiteful demeanor, Mrs. Ansley pauses before calmly retorting that she had Barbara all of these years. In other words, she had Delphin Slade’s child through all of those years.
While initially it seems that the more outspoken Mrs. Slade is more hateful than her counterpart, as the story progresses, it becomes apparent that the seemingly more soft-spoken and gentle Mrs. Ansley is a cold and calculating manipulator in reality. While Mrs. Slade devises an evil plan to distort her friend, Mrs. Ansley, rather than terminating the immoral deed, decides to go along with it. Furthermore, she not only hides the parentage of Barbara from her husband, but more importantly from her close friend and probably from the child’s true father. While Mrs. Slade more visibly seeks to harm her friend, as it turns out, Mrs. Ansley’s knife cuts much deeper and wounds her friend irreparably. Both women are so incredibly hateful however, that it is quite difficult to differentiate which is the worse.
While at times I felt sympathy for each of the two women during the story, in the end I feel no pity for either of them other than for the green monsters of envy and jealousy that continuously look over their shoulders and whisper in their ears, eating away at not only their friendships but their own lives.
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