While the text doesn't tell us, I believe Grace Ansley never revealed to her husband that Barbara was Delphin's daughter. I believe this for two reasons: first, Grace and her husband seem to have gotten along without a ripple of excitement or unhappiness. This is not consistent with a man finding out after the fact that the child he is raising is not his own.
But more importantly, the text emphasizes that Mrs. Ansley is a woman of few words. For example, we learn that she is "much less articulate than her friend." Mrs. Slade is the expressive one who does most of the talking. Grace Ansley, in contrast, is self-contained and tactful. For example, when Mrs. Slade wonders how Grace and Horace could produce a child as wonderful and vibrant as Barbara, a very catty comment, Grace holds onto her composure:
But her small profile was almost expressionless. At length she said, "I think you overrate Babs, my dear."
Since she is given to understatement and keeping her thoughts to herself, it is unlikely, in my opinion, that Grace told her secret to her husband.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Do you believe Grace told Horace that he was not Barbara's biological father in "Roman Fever"? Justify your answer.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
What is the theme of the chapter Lead?
Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...
-
The statement "Development policy needs to be about poor people, not just poor countries," carries a lot of baggage. Let's dis...
-
Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...
-
De Gouges's Declaration of the Rights of Woman was enormously influential. We can see its influences on early English feminist Mary Woll...
-
As if Hamlet were not obsessed enough with death, his uncovering of the skull of Yorick, the court jester from his youth, really sets him of...
-
James is very unhappy on a number of occasions throughout the story, but he's especially unhappy with his life situation as the story be...
-
One of the plot lines in Pride and Prejudice is Mrs. Bennet’s plan to marry off her daughters, preferably to rich men. Throughout the novel...
-
"Mistaken Identity" is an amusing anecdote recounted by the famous author Mark Twain about an experience he once had while traveli...
No comments:
Post a Comment