The short story “Roman Fever” illustrates the shocking relationship between two women, Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade, through a chance meeting in Rome. At the beginning of the story the two women are sitting on the terrace of a Roman restaurant which has an astonishing view of the Colosseum and other Roman ruins. As the women sit quietly and enjoy the tranquil view from the terrace, they notice their daughters below running off to spend a romantic evening with two young men. This triggers Mrs. Slade's memories of her and Mrs. Ansley's quixotic adventures in Rome as young adults and their first encounter with the "Roman fever". Wharton uses the term Roman fever to illustrate the women's past relationship which is steeped in destruction, jealousy, and deceit. Both women live their lives privately consumed by Roman fever for twenty-five years, once these secrets are revealed, an ironic twist will continue to haunt these women's lives. For several centuries Roman fever has been used to describe the spread of malaria epidemics. in Rome; the city was struck by this disease due to the marshy land that surrounded the area, becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes. This plague was not only a real concern for women during their younger travels to Rome, but also has a symbolic meaning. Reminiscing about the past, the women mention Mrs. Slade's Aunt Harriet and her actions against her sister when she discovered they were in love with the same man. "Oh, yes; great-aunt Harriet. That was supposed to send her young sister to the Forum after dark to pick a night flower for her album.", in any case, the poor little sister caught a fever and died. Mother frightened us with the story when... in the middle of the paper... Barbara," she said, and began to advance past Mrs. Slade towards the stairs."(384), after For years she had thought she had prevented Delphin to see Mrs. Ansley, strangely writing the letter that had brought them together that night. These women, Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade, feel as if they know almost everything about the other person, but as the story continues they realize that there is more than meets the eye. Irony and symbolism are powerful uses of literary devices in this tale. These devices tie the main points together allowing you to understand the connection between the characters and the Roman Fever. Destruction, deception and fear thus ran rampant in the lives of the young adults of Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley, leading to a life of pain. To illustrate this pain, the term the Romans coined for malaria, "Roman fever", was used to symbolize the malice in their relationship..