Roman Fever

     Who knew a couple of “ripe but well-cared for middle aged women” could be so devious?! I think Wharton wanted to portray how women can be two-faced and so good at holding grudges. I honestly thought at the beginning that they were close friends, vacationing in Rome together with their families. Not only was their meeting in Rome a complete coincidence (or so it said), but the women were not close friends; they only pretended to be. Their friendship started to seem a little off to me once we began to hear their thoughts: “It always will be, to me.” “Grace Ansley was always old-fashioned.” What really tipped me off though was when the narrator said how the ladies, “who had been intimate since childhood, reflected how little they knew each other.”  From then on it seemed everything they said to each other, or thought about each other had a spiteful hidden motive. We learn they lived very similar lives. They were even neighbors. But that didn’t mean they got along.
     Mrs. Slade was clearly setting herself up so she could dump the news on Mrs. Ansley about the letter. I think Mrs. Ansley suspected something when Mrs. Slade brought up Aunt Harriet and the sister that died. I was shocked to find out what everything had been leading up to…That Grace had been secretly in love with Delphin. I couldn’t believe how much pleasure Alida took in rubbing it in Mrs. Ansley’s face that she won Delphin in the end, so part of me was a little happy to find out Grace had indeed met with Delphin that night. My mind was blown when I read that last line, “I had Barbara.” I guess Mrs. Ansley wasn’t as old-fashioned as Mrs. Slade took her to be.

 

 

 

THE PASSING OF GRANDISON

I have to admit this story took me by surprise. Right up until the end I really thought that Grandison was a naïve slave who just wanted to get back to the plantation. I believe he took the entire Owens family by surprise too. Dick drove me crazy throughout the entire story with his ignorant and selfish ways. The only reason Dick wanted to free Grandison was to impress a girl...He didn’t really care about Grandison’s well-being…“if she knew how he was working, and under what difficulties, to accomplish something serious for her sake, she would no longer keep him in suspense, but overwhelm him with love and admiration.” (p 647) He was practically willing to get Grandison killed for the cause. He said it himself: (though I don’t think he truly meant it) “I do not deserve to be an American citizen; I ought not to have the advantages I possess over you”. Dick had no idea he was truly helping Grandison plan an escape, which goes to show how lazy and stupid he really was.

I really wonder how long Grandison had the whole thing planned? It made me really happy at the end when Grandison and the colonel could see each other as Grandison and his family rode away. “The colonel saw Grandison point him out to one of the crew of the vessel, who waved his hand derisively toward the colonel. The latter shook his fist impotently –and the incident was closed.” Ironic for the colonel but completely organized on Grandison’s part. Ha!