What kind of person is Delphin Slade in “Roman Fever” and what does his character tell us about Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade?
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Delphin Slade was clearly a very handsome, charismatic man. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been competing for the attention of not one, but two women at the same time. A wealthy, successful corporate lawyer, he would've been a real catch for any woman. That both Alida and Grace were so keen to be with him suggests that, despite their superficial differences, they look for similar things in a man.
Unfortunately for Alida, she doesn't recognize this fact until it's too late. She never would've guessed in a million years that Grace and Delphin were lovers and that their brief, illicit tryst resulted in the birth of Grace's daughter Barbara. She was always so sure that her cruel little ruse, played all those years ago in the middle of a Roman fever outbreak, had worked like a charm. That it didn't shows us that Alida never really knew either her husband or her friend. Among other things,...
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