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“Roman Fever,” was an example of perspective and the generational divide between the mothers and their daughters, as well as the generations before them. Mrs. Slade provided a somewhat uncomfortable monologue in which she described, “what different things Rome stands for to each generation of travelers. To our grandmothers, Roman fever; to our mothers, sentimental dangers—how we used to be guarded!—to our daughters, no more dangers than the middle of Main Street. They don’t know it—but how much they’re missing!” The setting plays a large role in this revelation as the two mothers were vacationing in Rome. The two to sat together quietly and reflected. From this position they were able to see their daughters down the stairs. The ability to physically see the difference in their daughter’s actions also effected their comments and thoughts. The two had very similar backgrounds as they were both widows with children. Their pasts made them alike as people and the setting allowed them to take note of how the different generations past and present are living in a different world, with different perspectives.

Betrayal and infidelity play leading roles in The Gilded Six Bits. The story begins with Missie May and Joe playing flirtatiously and obviously in love. Their relationship seems strong. Joe even notes; “That was the best part of life–going home to Missie May.” One evening on his walk home, Joe thinks about their future and imagines having children and starting a family: “…he saw it with his feelings. It made him yearn painfully for Missie… He thought about children.” The scene is set for disaster as Joe arrives home early to find his wife in bed with Slemons. Joe’s intense love for Missie and his dreams of growing old together make the moment especially tragic. Her infidelity breaks his heart and creates inordinate damage and grief for them both. But betrayal and infidelity do not break their marriage. When Missie gives birth to a baby boy, whose paternity is in question, Joe decides to reclaim his life and leave the painful chapter behind. He has a son to raise, after all. He rids himself of the gilded coin left behind by Slemons on the night of the affair. This act symbolizes Joe’s readiness to renew his faith in his wife and to begin rebuilding their fractured past. 

Chekhov introduces the protagonsit, Gurov, as someone who thinks of women as “the lower race” or inferior to him. Therefore, he enjoys spending time with women more because he free whereas being with men made him feel bored. This clearly shows that he liked being around women more because of the way it made him feel more in control and powerful. Gurov is attracted to Anna because she was young and naive which was the complete opposite of his wife who was older and intelligent. It made me think that Gurov only pursued his love for Anna because he knew that he could take advantage of her. The color grey is used to describe Gurov in many ways. For example, his aging hair as well as the clothes he wears. However, Gurov’s love for Anna brings him more color and freedom so we assume that his newfound love is different and real from all his previous lovers.

Although I understand why some people might find this significant and perhaps point to segregation as the root of author’s choice of dialect, I believe that both dialects are used in order to improve the flow of the story. If the entire story was written in the southern and more informal dialect, it would likely be difficult to read and lack a clear structure. On the other hand, the dialect does plant a specific image of the characters throughout the story. The quotes used allow the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the important factors at play in the story. In conclusion, I do not believe the dialect was chosen for any other reason other than to improve the flow of the story and to present a specific image to the reader.

Often, we find comfort in knowing someone for a long time. Even though we know someone since childhood, doesn’t mean we really know them as a person or know what their motives are. Knowing someone from childhood just means you happened to be born and live around the same time as someone else. In the case of “Roman Fever”, the two ladies may have known each other since they were young and seemed to get along well in the beginning as a result. However, when conflict arises and they begin to see the real side of each other, their friendship that was built on time, not experiences, began to crumble. Thus, Wharton wants us to consider if those around us are simply around us by chance or because we want them to be around us.

In “The Gilded Six Bits” betrayal and infidelity change Joe and Missie May’s relationship significantly. At the beginning of the story, their relationship is playful and loving.  Joe would play game sand give gifts to Missie may and in return, Missie May would take care of Joe. Their relationship was so secure to Joe that he even showed off Missie May to Slemmons who was known to be a womanizer. This ended up backfiring because Joe caught Missie May and Slemmons together.  After the incident Joes was still kind to Missie May, but the games stopped and he was no longer as loving as he was in the past. Missie May noticed the change in their relationship and just hoped he would just leave her because she couldn’t understand why Joe was still kind to her. Infidelity and betrayal changed their relationship tremendously because both people felt heartbroken by the incident by they also still loved each other.

In the short story “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov, Dmitri Gurov sexualizes Anna Sergeyevna’s youthfulness. The sexualization is especially prevalent towards the beginning of the story which was considered normal during that time period. Dmitri describes women as “the lower race” because he believes that they’re inferior to men, but he would still rather be in the company of a woman. Throughout the story, readers can tell that Dmitri is attracted to Anna’s small body frame, purity, and obedient nature. Anna’s purity and innocence are symbolized by her white dog that she is always seen with. Later on in the story, her dog is seen less and she’s not as innocent due to her affair with Dmitri. Meanwhile, the repetition of grey in the story shows Dmitri’s uncertainty about his affair because he used to never believe in enduring relationships. The use of the color grey represents Dmitri’s realization that he’s actually in love with Anna, making his world of black and white disappear and his appreciation of Anna more profound.

In Edith Wharton’s story “Roman Fever”, Alide Slade and Grace Ansley gave up their friendship because of the pursuit of love and personal interests. They lost their right judgement and lost their self-worth, making their choices for the common lover Delphin Slade, and this choice changed their lives. Alide wants to defend her love, in order to eliminate her rival, write a letter to Grace in Delphin’s tone, wanting Grace to get sick and die. And Grace is a gentle and kind woman who pursues her love at all cost, even health and virginity. In a  word, their friendship was the forfeit for their incorrect judgments.

In Roman Fever, Wharton wants us to consider the fact we never truly know anyone in our lives. We have this idea of them, but we only know what they want us to know. For instance, Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade’s relationship. They knew they were both in love with the same man, so their relationship’s foundation was primarily built on jealousy. Additionally, the way Mrs. Slade spoke about Ansley gave the audience the idea that Ansley tries to portray this idea of innocence (when she is not). Their relationship was phony in a way, and may push both characters to question how much they really knew Delphin. Do relationships exist where people truly know who each other are (friendships, partners, family)? Could the way we do not know people in our lives mean all of those relationships are phony, or be some sort of reflection upon ourselves?

 

What is the significance of the two lovers meeting at Yalta, a resort town?

We know that Yalta is the setting in the story, that is a resort town.  People go to resorts for a limited amount of time as vacation or to take time off of their priorities.  This is exactly what the significance of this setting is.  When Gurov and Anna are enjoying each other and being together, there is some point where they have to go back to reality.  Besides the fact that they are both married, towards the end, Anna says, “I wanted to forget, to forget you.”  Gurov says they should talk and figure out a plan together, but it seems she isn’t completely for it.  Yalta is meant to show that resorts are temporary, and life is not always going to be the way you desire.