Barbara Ansley: Vivacious daughter of Grace Ansley. Alida Slade resents her because of her obvious superiority to her own daughter. The last sentence in the story reveals that Barbara is really the daughter of Delphin.
Slade reveals that she—not her husband, Delphin—had been the true author of a love letter Mrs. Ansley received during a trip to Rome decades earlier, Mrs. Ansley's unexpectedly emotional reaction reveals her deep and authentic attachment to Delphin. When Mrs.
Ansley share a similar social background. They're both part of the gilded upper-class world that Edith Wharton wrote about so often. More importantly, Alida and Grace are linked by Delphin. Alida Slade is Delphin's widow, and Grace Ansley was once his lover.
Slade would know what it said since she burned it after reading it. Mrs. Slade confesses that she wrote the letter to lure Mrs. Ansley into the horrible conditions hoping she would become ill as punishment for lusting after her fiance Delphin.
Slade and Mrs. Ansley have been lifelong friends, thrown into intimacy by circumstance rather than by true liking for each other. They first met as young ladies vacationing in Rome with their families, and they have lived for most of their adult lives across the street from each other in New York.
Slade created the whole origin of intrigue out of own desire for nothing more than the shear pleasure of trickery. Slade to send the letter to Mrs. Ansley ended up being the spawn of the jealousy that she later would feel over Mrs. Ansley's beautiful daughter.Jan 22, 2021
Slade is envious of Mrs. Ansley's daughter Barbara. She wonders how her friend was able to produce such a daughter. What is Roman fever and how does it come into play in the story?
Alida reveals that she knew Grace was in love with Delphin back then, who was engaged to Alida. Alida wrote a letter to Grace pretending to be Delphin and asking to meet, so that Grace would be stood up. Grace is shocked at this revelation, and drops her knitting.
Jenny Slade and Barbara Ansley The contrast between the girls brings out traits in their mothers. Barbara's confidence serves to make her mother seem more self-assured and content, and Jenny's safeness emphasizes Alida's agitated state.
When they were younger, Grace fell in love with Alida's future husband, Delphin. He and Grace met at the Colosseum one night, and their union resulted in a daughter, Barbara. Grace Ansley and Alida Slade sit and talk while their daughters, Barbara and Jenny, meet up with two Italian aviators.
Slade recites the words of a letter that Delphin sent to Mrs. Ansley one night, asking her to meet him at the Colosseum. Mrs.
The Roman Fever quotes below are all either spoken by Grace Ansley or refer to Grace Ansley. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ).
The timeline below shows where the character Grace Ansley appears in Roman Fever. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.