Change in Roman Fever by Edith Wharton
Chance (or coincidence) has an ambiguous role in the outcome of
different situations; it can work in or against one’s favour. As in
real life, chance in literature has considerable influence on the
circumstances of the characters and where those circumstances lead.
In two particular literary works, Roman Fever and A Small, Good Thing,
chance happenings have grave results on the lives of the characters
concerned. In Roman Fever, old friends meet by chance and reveal
disturbing secrets about the past; while in A Small, Good Thing a boy
is injured on his birthday placing his parents in a desperate
situation. Although chance generally seems to go unnoticed—a
spontaneous purchase of candles, followed by a power failure—the
impact it makes is often not so subtle.
Edith Wharton, author of Roman Fever, depicts two upper class women
friends; one, Mrs. Slade, fiercely jealous of the other and the other,
Mrs. Ansley, pitiful of her childhood friend. The depiction is real
in that it epitomizes the American upper class wife—responsibilities
include making the husband happy and entertaining his guests; a
typical day may consists of shopping, lunch and the exchange of
rumours with the other wives of other rich husbands; in essence, they
waste away the time until the rich husband arrives home from work or
until he makes a request. Mrs. Slade, in reflection, felt “a certain
conjugal pride” about being such a wife (Wharton, 84). The most
prominent aspect of such individuals presented by Wharton is the limit
in which they will endeavour to undermine even a supposed friend to
achieve an end, generally the richest husband. And, of course, with
such rules of play, one needs all the ...
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...mall, Good
Thing, while its effects were tragic; it also had a few positive
implications. However, the same aspect of chance holds true in both
cases: though its effects rarely go unnoticed, its role in events
almost always do. If it were at all anticipatory Alida would have
pondered the possibility of Grace responding to the letter and Ann
would have dropped her son at school that day. Indeed, if chance were
predictable it would loose its very nature; its swaying force would be
futile and life would go on otherwise unruffled.
Works Cited
Carver, Raymond. “A Small, Good Thing.” A Pocket Anthology: Third
Ed. R.S. Gwynn. New York: Longman, 2002. 304-326.
“Chance.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:
Fourth Ed. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. www.atomica.com.
Wharton, Edith. “Roman Fever.” A Pocket Anthology: Third Ed. 81-93.
Well there is always the fate aspect in everything that occurs in our lives but majority of the outcomes created from the individuals own decisions. It is up to the individual to determine what can occur, if they do one thing then something will be the outcome. A side from that, there is always the possibility of being at the wrong place at the wrong time which can have an affect of on the outcomes of life.
“Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen” (“Brainy Quotes” 1). In Edith Wharton’s framed novel, Ethan Frome, the main protagonist encounters “lost opportunity, failed romance, and disappointed dreams” with a regretful ending (Lilburn 1). Ethan Frome lives in the isolated fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts with his irritable spouse, Zenobia Frome. Ever since marriage, Zenobia, also referred to as Zeena, revolves around her illness. Furthermore, she is prone to silence, rage, and querulously shouting. Ethan has dreams of leaving Starkfield and selling his plantation, however he views caring for his wife as a duty and main priority. One day, Zeena’s cousin, Mattie Silver, comes to assist the Frome’s with their daily tasks. Immediately, Mattie’s attractive and youthful energy resuscitates Ethan’s outlook on life. She brings a light to Starkfield and instantaneously steals Ethan’s heart; although, Ethan’s quiet demeanor and lack of expression causing his affection to be surreptitious. As Zeena’s health worsens, she becomes fearful and wishes to seek advice from a doctor in a town called Bettsbridge giving Ethan and Mattie privacy for one night. Unfortunately, the night turns out to be a disastrous and uncomfortable evening. Neither Ethan nor Mattie speaks a word regarding their love for one another. Additionally, during their dinner, the pet cat leaps on the table and sends a pickle dish straight to the floor crashing into pieces. To make matters worse, the pickle dish is a favored wedding gift that is cherished by Zeena. Later, Zeena discovers it is broken and it sends her anger over the edge. Furious, Zeena demands for a more efficient “hired girl” to complete the tasks ar...
In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, Ethan, a reserved young man was torn between two women. He was married to Zenobia Frome, but his true love was his wife’s cousin, Mattie Silver. Zeena and Mattie were different in all aspects. Mattie was a caring, loving, beautiful young girl, while Zeena was a sickly, shrewish woman aged well beyond her years. Ethan was continuously drawn to Mattie throughout the novel, as she was much more attractive and amicable than Zeena.
Lewis, Jan. "The Republican Wife: Virtue and Seduction in the Early Republic." The William and Mary Quarterly. 44 (1987), 689-722.
Edith Wharton, originally named “Edith Newbold Jones”(Cliff Notes), was born on “January 24, 1862 in New York City to George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander Jones and died on August 11, 1937”(Cliff Notes). She was born into a wealthy family and was a “designer, short story writer and American novelist”(Cliff Notes). Wharton descended from the English and Dutch cultures. She had two siblings, one known as “Frederic Rhinelander Jones” (Cliff Notes) who was sixteen years older than her, and “Henry Edward Jones eleven years older”(Cliff Notes). While her brothers attended boarding school, Wharton became “raised as an only child in a brownstone mansion on West Twenty-third Street in New York City”(Cliff
Many times in life things are not as they seem. What may look simple on the surface may be more complicated deeper within. Countless authors of short stories go on a journey to intricately craft the ultimate revelation as well as the subtle clues meant for the readers as they attempt to figure out the complete “truth” of the story. The various authors of these stories often use different literary techniques to help uncover the revelation their main characters undergo. Through the process of carefully developing their unique characters and through point of view, both Edith Wharton and Ernest Hemingway ultimately convey the significant revelation in the short stories, “Roman Fever” and “Hills Like White Elephants” respectively. The use of these two literary techniques is essential because they provide the readers with the necessary clues to realize the ultimate revelations.
...s Oedipus' fate from when he was an infant. Chance determined the past, yet she could affect the present and the future.
Edith Wharton was the author of The Age of Innocence, a novel published in 1920. In the book, many topics were considered, such as divorce, the empowerment of women, and the lifestyle of the wealthy. The inspiration for these motifs occurred throughout her life. Although Edith Wharton’s work was not well-received, the topics included in her writings held many truths about upper-class society in the late 1800s; therefore, Edith Wharton was influenced by her past and societal experiences.
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