Edith Wharton Rivalry

Trust is something that is earned not given. truth is developed over time. Sometimes it may take months it may even take years. Friends who grew up together and lived closely to one another throughout their adult life usually have developed some form of trust in each other. Mrs. Grace Ansley, a quiet woman with a huge moral dilemma, and Mrs. Alida Slade, a woman who seems to have a serious bone to pick with her counterpart, have known each other for many years now. Together they are the main characters in the short story “Roman Fever”, by Edith Wharton. A rivalry has developed between the two main characters of the story. In a rivalry, there is always a winner and a loser. Wharton shows us how a desire to embarrass a friend can backfire. Mrs.
Slade wants to be the best and be the center of attention. This is a natural feeling in terms of a rivalry. We get a glimpse of this feeling when she is talking about how she wishes her daughter was more like Babs, “I always wanted a brilliant daughter” (Wharton 517). This is very odd for any mother to say about their own child. Usually parents love their kids unconditionally and do not degrade them. However, given the intensity of the rivalry between the two it is only natural that one envy another in terms of wanting what the other
Slade confesses to writing the letter that proved that Mrs. Ansley desired Mrs. Slade’s now-deceased husband, who was her fiancée at the time. Mrs. Slade believes that by sending the letter that she defeated her rival who became sick that same night, unaware that in fact, Mrs. Ansley had written back to Mr. Slade and persuaded him to meet with her. Even when Mrs. Ansley informs Mrs. Slade that her husband did spend the evening in question with her, the damage is perceived as minimal to Mrs. Slade since these are events that took place years ago, the husband has been dead for a while, and despite that one night, Mrs. Slade still lived with her husband for the rest of his life. Yet in the final passage of the story, Mrs. Ansley reveals a fact of which Mrs. Slade is not aware. Here we see the true feelings of both women and how the rivalry has affected both of them. As Mrs. Slade tells Mrs. Ansley that all she gained from that night was a bad cold and a forged letter, the other replies, “Mrs. Ansley was again silent. At length, she took a step toward the door of the terrace, and turned back, facing her companion. 'I had Barbara,' she said, and began to move ahead of