Mrs. Slade decided to write to Mrs. Ansley a note with …show more content…
And shows that Mrs. Slade bad blood she carried around for twenty five years for Mrs. Ansley is a disease that was eating away at her. This story shows a double standard between the male and female role in society. During this time women having babies out of wedlock were frowned upon. Having people to think she was sick and left town so soon this was dramatic measure to keep her secret. The last day these two women come together and tell each other their secrets from afternoon to sundown on the terrace of the restaurant in Rome. This would be the last time they would meet. Clearing the air was like a cleansing of the soul for all the wrong they have done and pain caused by each other. Not one person is to blame they both share equally responsibility for this broken relationship. Edith Wharton left some unanswered questions like did she tell her daughter about her half-sister. Did she tell her deceased husband that Barbara was Delphin daughter? My belief is that she did not tell anyone it was something she would have taken to her grave. Besides telling Mrs. Slade at the end of her visit. Mrs. Slade world was now crushed having to leave Rome go back to America with knowing the truth of Delphin. How could she not think of the possibility of them meeting? Maybe I didn’t matter because she had money and social status and love was not of any importance. Women of the 1930s were mainly house wives who took care of the house and the kids. They will both leave Rome and go back to New York with somethings still not completely