Prose to Prose

Prose to Prose

Introduction

The following paper compares and discusses the two literary pieces of Edith Wharton namely Roman Fever and Ethan Frome.

Discussion

Roman Fever

In Roman Fever, the plot is developed in an interesting and different way. Here, the present situation is unfolded by the dialogues of Grace Ansley and Alida Slade, and the strain between them. Other than that, Wharton has also discussed the past actions and history of these two friends, explaining the years of jealousy, secrecy and insecurity that lead them to this revelations (www.classiclit.about.com). Grace and Alida had spent this entire story while sitting in a restaurant that overlooks the beautiful hills of a village. They are meeting each other after years, but still, a tension exists between these two friends. Eventually, they started to discuss about the lives of their daughters and some other topics. Soon, it became very clear to them that they know almost nothing about each other's current life. Therefore, the tension that already existed between these two rises a little more.

All through her life, Alida had been jealous of Grace. Even though they both had belonged to the same social class and both of them had married into really successful families but still, Alida always thinks that Grace has something which she don't have. According to her, Grace and Horace are irreproachable and she used to entertain herself with the thought of those two being raided (www.classiclit.about.com). Once, Alida forged a letter from Delphin in which she urged Grace to meet Delphin. This reproachful act of Alida was motivated only due to her insecurity which she had regarding her relationship with Grace (www.classiclit.about.com). Long after Alida got widowed, she started to feel envious of Grace for similar reasons again. Alida doesn't like the fact that the daughter of Grace, Barbara is a lot more assertive and self-confident concerning men.

Alida wishes that her own daughter, Jenny, would someday fall in love with a decent man and spend a happy life. But she is quite sure that instead of her daughter, Barbara would one day find a wealthy man and would marry him. Alida truly despises the contentment and satisfaction of Grace towards life (www.tunemyheart.net). As Grace has accepted her new life and learned to be happy with it, Alida on the other hand still clings to the misunderstandings she had with her husband when he was alive. In this story, the reflection or feelings of Grace towards Alida are not given in much detail. But still, it is clear that she feels sorry for Alida and believes that the life of her friend had always been full mistakes and failures. It is quite obvious in the conclusion of the first part of the story that Grace pities Alida. At this time, it is not exactly quite clear that what exactly does Grace feels sorry for, but here, the twist that is about to come in the plot is foreshadowed (www.tunemyheart.net).

As the second part of the story starts, the current plot ...