Comparing Moral Responsibility in "Babylon Revisited" and "Roman Fever"

Introduction: Americans Abroad and the Weight of the Past

In both the short stories "Babylon Revisited" by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "Roman Fever" by Edith Wharton, the main characters are Americans who have become disenchanted with their home country. Each leaves their homeland behind in order to retrieve something unavailable to them in the United States — whether adventure, a child, or the ability to forget the past. Neither of the main characters, Charlie Wales in the former and Alida Slade in the latter, is a particularly sympathetic person. In fact, both characters behaved reprehensibly in their youths and have attempted to abandon their responsibilities and escape the repercussions of their past choices. In the end, both are forced to face the mistakes of their past and must reckon with the fact that decisions made long ago will continue to affect them far into the future. Although both characters are responsible for the outcomes of their stories, Charlie Wales bears greater blame for his current unhappiness, because he could foresee the potential consequences of his choices, whereas Alida Slade could not possibly have anticipated how her actions would later upend her life.

Alida Slade's Deception in Roman Fever

While in Rome, Alida Slade and her friend Mrs. Grace Ansley travel with their daughters, Jenny and Barbara respectively. Mrs. Slade informs Ansley of an episode from the last time they were both in Rome, when the two women were still young. At that time, both had been enamored of the same man — Alida's fiancé, Delphin. Grace was quite taken with Delphin, but there was no doubt that it was Alida he loved and intended to marry. Out of spite for her friend's infatuation, Alida played a cruel trick: she wrote a letter to Grace, supposedly from Delphin, suggesting that the two meet at the Coliseum in Rome. Alida hoped that if Grace were left waiting at the Coliseum for a man who would never come, she would get over her affection for Delphin and cease to be a hindrance to the engagement.

Grace is distressed by this revelation, but — unbeknownst to Alida — Grace had responded to that long-ago letter. The fictitious rendezvous, intended to humiliate Grace, backfired entirely. Delphin and Grace actually did meet at the Coliseum, and it is strongly implied that Grace's daughter Barbara was a direct result of that single encounter. Alida, in attempting to rectify a perceived wrong — or more likely to cause pain to her friend and rival — ends up causing herself profound pain. She must now live with the knowledge that Barbara may be her husband's daughter, and that she herself engineered the very situation that made his infidelity possible. Had she not contrived to harm Grace, the two would never have had their liaison, and it is unlikely they would ever have acted on their mutual attraction.

Charlie Wales and the Cost of Debauchery

Alida's actions were wrong and her pain is real; she is absolutely responsible for the suffering she now endures. However, her deception ultimately harmed only herself, whereas the actions of Charlie Wales caused harm to many people. In his prosperous past, Charlie and his wife were heavy drinkers who spent money as fast as they earned it. Now that the 1920s have ended and the Stock Market has crashed, people have been forced to sober up — in Charlie's case, both literally and figuratively. His alcoholism has reduced him to poverty, cost him his wife, and left his daughter Honoria in the care of his deceased wife's sister. Honoria loves him, but he has not demonstrated the responsibility required to be her parent. Charlie declares that his entire reason for coming to Paris is to reunite with his daughter and rebuild his life for her sake. Yet his past returns, quite literally, to damage both his present circumstances and his future prospects.

While in Paris, Charlie encounters some of his companions from his days of drunken excess. Although he has sworn off alcohol and insists that his self-indulgent past is behind him, Honoria's aunt Marion remains skeptical of his commitment to sobriety and worried about the kind of influence he would have on the child. Later, when Charlie visits his daughter and his in-laws, some of his old drinking friends arrive unexpectedly. Marion interprets this as evidence that Charlie has not truly changed and resolves that he cannot even discuss taking Honoria for at least another six months — a verdict that devastates Charlie, who has also consumed an alcoholic drink during the visit.

Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "Babylon Revisited." The Saturday Evening Post. 1931. Print.

Wharton, Edith. "Roman Fever." The World Over. 1934. Print.