"Roman Fever"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the irony and foreshadowing evident in the short story "Roman Fever" written by Edith Wharton. The paper discusses how Wharton creates a thrilling short story that takes place in just a few hours on a terrace. It is through the setting of the story and the conversation between Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade that Wharton employs irony and foreshadowing to add tension and drama.

From the Paper:

"Wharton uses the setting of this story to set the mood. The Colosseum is clearly a place that holds tender memories for both of the women. We are introduced to feelings of young love and night skies filled with the full moon. These images work to convey a romantic mood as the two companions reflect on their pasts. Wharton also employs irony in the setting as well. For instance, the women are sitting on a "lofty terrace of the Roman restaurant," which implies a lovely scene. The view also includes a "serenity which might have been borrowed from the spring effulgence of the Roman skies" (Wharton 1025). In addition, the ladies are reminiscing about their younger days. The setting of the story indicates that we are about to read about love and to make that matter more interesting, it is a love from years past."

More papers on "Roman Fever":

• Book Review # 96403 : "Roman Fever" Was Not Pneumonia"
• Analytical Essay # 49766 : "Two Women Characters in "Roman Fever"
• Analytical Essay # 4965 : "Edith Wharton's "Roman Fever" and Zora Neale Hurston's "The Gilded Six-Bits"

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