Roman Fever
...states that it is fine. As these women are sitting and enjoying the view, their conversation begins to turn in the direction of the past and the memories that they share. Though their conversation seems pleasant enough, the mood begins to change as the story progresses. Mrs. Slade is the widow of a famous corporation lawyer. She had always considered herself as his equal, but after his passing she felt unimportant. Wharton writes: “It was a big drop from being the wife of Delphin Slade to being his widow….” This paints a picture of a woman who enjoyed status and wealth. She lived her life for prestige and is now left feeling lonely and empty. Mrs. Ansley, on the other hand, is considered to be a bit dull by Mrs. Slade. Wharton states that Mrs. Slade “had grown bored” with Mrs. Anlsey’s mundane life long ago. Mrs. Ansley comes across as the more quiet and romantic of the two. While talking of the past they begin to discuss Roman fever and how Mrs. Ansley’s Aunt Harriot had sent her young sister out to gather flowers, but how she really sent her out to catch fever and die since they were both in love with the same man. As they talk of this story Mrs. Slade relates it to the time when Mrs. Ansley had been out at night and gotten sick. When Mrs. Ansley asks why she had thought of that night all of a sudden, Mrs. Slade answers that she “simply can’t bear it any longer,” and that she has always known why Mrs. Ansley was out that night. She admits her envy towards Mrs. Ansley and confesses how she had written her a letter pretending to be Mr. Slade. The letter told Mrs. Ansley to meet him at the colloseum, which she did. Mrs. Slade apologizes for writing that deceitful letter and making Mrs. Ansley wait for nothing. But Mrs. Ansley had a secret of her own. She had responded to the letter and did not have to wait at all. Upon hearing this Mrs. Slade becomes angry. She tells Mrs. Ansley that “I had everything; I had [Mr. Slade] for twenty-five years. And you had nothing but that one letter that he didn’t write.” At this point the reader believes that all the drama is over and that all the secrets have been revealed. But Wharton still has one surprise left for the readers. Upon hearing what Mrs. Slade had to say Mrs. Ansley states that “I had Bar...