Roman Fever

by

Edith Wharton

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Jenny Slade Character Analysis

Mrs. Slade's daughter and only surviving child. She is prudent, respectful of her mother, and beautiful. However, she lacks the “brilliant” qualities—the sparkling personality—that Mrs. Slade had hoped for in a daughter. Mrs. Slade sees Jenny as being “perfect” and an “angel,” but often wishes she were more like the less beautiful but more vivacious Barbara Ansley.

Jenny Slade Quotes in Roman Fever

The Roman Fever quotes below are all either spoken by Jenny Slade or refer to Jenny Slade . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Competition in Female Relationships Theme Icon
).
Section 1 Quotes

As they leaned there a girlish voice echoed up gaily from the stairs leading to the court below. “Well, come along, then,” it cried, not to them but to an invisible companion, “and let’s leave the young things to their knitting … After all, we haven’t left our poor parents much else to do.”

Related Characters: Barbara Ansley (speaker), Alida Slade, Grace Ansley, Jenny Slade
Related Symbols: Knitting
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:

“Moonlight—moonlight! What a part it still plays. Do you suppose they’re as sentimental as we were?”
“I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t in the least know what they are,” said Mrs. Ansley. “And perhaps we didn’t know much more about each other.”

Related Characters: Alida Slade (speaker), Grace Ansley (speaker), Barbara Ansley , Jenny Slade
Page Number: 5-6
Explanation and Analysis:

In living up to such a husband all her faculties had been engaged; now she had only her daughter to live up to, for the son who seemed to have inherited his father’s gifts had died suddenly in boyhood. She had fought through that agony because her husband was there, to be helped and to help; now, after the father’s death, the thought of the boy had become unbearable. There was nothing left but to mother her daughter; and dear Jenny was such a perfect daughter that she needed no excessive mothering … She wished that Jenny would fall in love—with the wrong man, even; that she might have to be watched, out-manoeuvred, rescued.

Related Characters: Alida Slade (speaker), Delphin Slade , Jenny Slade
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis:
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Jenny Slade Quotes in Roman Fever

The Roman Fever quotes below are all either spoken by Jenny Slade or refer to Jenny Slade . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Competition in Female Relationships Theme Icon
).
Section 1 Quotes

As they leaned there a girlish voice echoed up gaily from the stairs leading to the court below. “Well, come along, then,” it cried, not to them but to an invisible companion, “and let’s leave the young things to their knitting … After all, we haven’t left our poor parents much else to do.”

Related Characters: Barbara Ansley (speaker), Alida Slade, Grace Ansley, Jenny Slade
Related Symbols: Knitting
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:

“Moonlight—moonlight! What a part it still plays. Do you suppose they’re as sentimental as we were?”
“I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t in the least know what they are,” said Mrs. Ansley. “And perhaps we didn’t know much more about each other.”

Related Characters: Alida Slade (speaker), Grace Ansley (speaker), Barbara Ansley , Jenny Slade
Page Number: 5-6
Explanation and Analysis:

In living up to such a husband all her faculties had been engaged; now she had only her daughter to live up to, for the son who seemed to have inherited his father’s gifts had died suddenly in boyhood. She had fought through that agony because her husband was there, to be helped and to help; now, after the father’s death, the thought of the boy had become unbearable. There was nothing left but to mother her daughter; and dear Jenny was such a perfect daughter that she needed no excessive mothering … She wished that Jenny would fall in love—with the wrong man, even; that she might have to be watched, out-manoeuvred, rescued.

Related Characters: Alida Slade (speaker), Delphin Slade , Jenny Slade
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis: