In Roman Fever by Edith Wharton, Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley's relationship grows more and more complex as the story develops. Initially, it seems like they are have just been acquaintances for a long time, but it turns out that they have always felt themselves to be superior to the other. They even think poorly of the other woman's daughter due to some long standing resentment or envy. It turns out that Mrs. Slade forged a letter to Mrs. Ansley so she would think her fiance stood her up and she would get sick with Roman Fever. It didn't work, but the resentment between the two women grows. At the end, Mrs Ansley confesses that her daughter is the illegitimate child of Mrs. Slade's late husband. I would characterize their relationship as a facade that covers deep feelings of envy and resentment.
One Art is a poem about a relationship between the narrator and someone special to her which she has lost. We know that the "you" she refers to is someone special because it's the only type of loss that actually constitutes a disaster. The tone of the poem, to me, suggests that she starts off confident but starts to get upset and maybe even cries towards the end. When the narrator includes "(write it!)" in the last line, I think this is evidence that the narrator is struggling to even finish her thoughts, signaling how distraught she is.
Mending Wall is a more complicated explanation of the relationships between people. The narrator wonders why he and his neighbor need to repair the wall separating their property each Spring, after the elements break it down each year. The neighbor insists "Good fences make good neighbors," but the narrator isn't so sure. The narrator comically states that the trees were not going to trespass on to the other property, but this is actually a good point. The narrator also says before he builds a wall he would like to know "What I was walling in or walling out." I think this is Frost suggesting that there are situations that call for walls, but they aren't always necessary. I think the "something" that doesn't love a wall is time and seasons/weather. Every year the two neighbors mend the wall, and its inevitable that the wall will fall again with the passage of time and the wear of the elements. I think overall, Frost is saying that good fences do not necessarily make good neighbors, they just inhibit the relationships between neighbors.
Like the thought of the wall inhibiting neighbors interactions. This raised a point to me that maybe a good wall can make a good neighbor. It all depends on the neighbors though. I feel that people who have no problems with each other have no need for walls because all it does is separate the two when they could be building a relationship. On the other hand, two people who have no use for each other might be better off with a good wall between them because it would keep them from worsening their situation. Like the thoughts on the "Mending Wall".
ReplyDeleteI like your interpretation of Mending Walls as an "explanation of the relationships between people." Much like the two neighbors in the passage, many people prefer to have borders up around their emotions and person.
ReplyDeleteIt may be because human nature is so deceptive. We like to ensure and back up everything because a breakdown is evitable. Perhaps nature insist that society would thrive more if everyone was not in his/her own yard.