Analyzing Edith Wharton's Short Story 'Roman Fever'
Delaney Renker
24 October 2013
ENG 210
Close Reading (short story)
Short Story - Close Reading I am working with Edith Wharton’s short story, “Roman Fever.” Immediately, we sense the tension between Grace Ansley and Alida Slade. The climax has just occurred as Mrs. Slade confesses that she is the one who wrote Mrs. Ansley the love letter that, unknown to Mrs. Slade, catalyzed her relationship and therefore her child with Mrs. Slade’s husband. In the provided passage, Mrs. Ansley falls silent, or as Wharton states, “relapses” back into silence, possibly realizing her own deceit in going to visit a taken man so many years ago. The word “relapse” is important to recognize here, because it could simply mean to go to a less active state or
24 October 2013
ENG 210
Close Reading (short story)
Short Story - Close Reading I am working with Edith Wharton’s short story, “Roman Fever.” Immediately, we sense the tension between Grace Ansley and Alida Slade. The climax has just occurred as Mrs. Slade confesses that she is the one who wrote Mrs. Ansley the love letter that, unknown to Mrs. Slade, catalyzed her relationship and therefore her child with Mrs. Slade’s husband. In the provided passage, Mrs. Ansley falls silent, or as Wharton states, “relapses” back into silence, possibly realizing her own deceit in going to visit a taken man so many years ago. The word “relapse” is important to recognize here, because it could simply mean to go to a less active state or