Roman Fever

So the first reading assignment for the Layers of Rome class and blog was to read "Roman Fever" by Edith Wharton and respond to it.

I really enjoyed this short story. At first it seemed a bit slow, maybe even boring, because it is just a conversation between two middle aged women in a rooftop restaurant in Rome.

I started to wonder if there was more to the story however when Mrs. Slade gives a rather harsh mental description of the woman who is supposedly her friend. There were definitely long harbored resentments. I must admit I had already guessed at the surprise ending when it rolled around.

In this story, Roman fever had two meanings; the first reference to the concerns of the grandmothers of these two ladies was a literal illness, in this case Malaria from what I have read. The second meaning is more figurative, a reference to the deep passions that were excited by experiences in Rome. The events and passions of their youth carried over into the decades that followed.

I particular loved some of the descriptive passages. My favorite was ...

"Her gaze turned to the Colosseum. Already its golden flank was drowned in purple shadow,
and above it the sky curved crystal clear, without light or color.
It was the moment when afternoon and evening hang balanced in mid-heaven."

::sigh:: So beautiful.