Student Question
In "Roman Fever," what is your reaction to Mrs. Slade's confession?
Quick answer:
In "Roman Fever," Mrs. Slade's confession is offered as a means of destroying the woman whom she has harbored jealous feelings toward for decades. If the goal of sharing a truth is to harm someone, it is difficult to justify those actions.
Alida Slade has no honorable intentions in her confession to her old friend, Grace Ansley. From the beginning of the story, there are tones of jealousy toward Grace's daughter, Barbara, and a sense that she feels her own daughter is too prudent. She calls Jenny an "angel," though not entirely in a means of endearment. Mrs. Slade looks upon Mrs. Ansley with a sort of contempt, finding fault with her modest life and even making fun of her at a women's lunch. She believes herself superior to Grace in every way, believing that losing her own husband was more painful than Grace's loss because she had always enjoyed the excitement of being a celebrity's wife.
Throughout their conversation, Mrs. Slade tries to lead her old friend into a confrontation, alluding generally to that fateful night so long ago and finally becoming more direct. In contrast, Mrs. Ansley tries to avoid...
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the subject for as long as possible, at first claiming that she doesn't remember the night and asking Alida not to go down this path of conversation.
Yet Alida wants to hurt her. Her confession's singular intent is to embarrass and humiliate Grace, as she believes that Grace was stood up by Delphin Slade all those years ago. She will not be stopped in her efforts until she reveals in full that she wrote that letter so that Grace will know that Delphin never cared for her.
Ironically, it's Alida who is shocked by the revelation that Delphin did meet Grace on that night. Her efforts to shock and embarrass Grace are turned on her, and because of her motives, this seems a fair turn of events.
Part of the real question here is exactly what the "painful truth" is to Alida Slade. The pain is her own because she designed it herself. Even in her younger years, she was jealous of Grace, and she unknowingly orchestrated the meeting that brought her future husband and Grace together for one passionate encounter. The motive here is important. Alida doesn't wish to share what she believes is the truth of that evening with Grace in an effort to be honest or virtuous. Instead, she wishes to further destroy the woman she believed was in love with her husband many years ago. If the goal of sharing a "truth" is to hurt someone, it's hard to justify that decision.
Should you always tell the truth? Again, I think it depends on why you feel the need to do so. If the goal is to help someone or to mend a relationship, honesty is a great policy. But there is a saying that "honesty without love is brutality." In the end, Mrs. Slade's goals were brutal and not offered in love or compassion.