Remember That You Will Die

                In Roman Fever, the protagonists, two wealthy, middle-aged American women on vacation with their daughters, look over a terrace at a view of Rome, described as memento mori.  This phrase is used to great effect by the narrator to highlight both characters’ mortality and morality.

                The phrase memento mori is especially apt for this short story as the phrase originated in ancient Rome when a slave warned a general, memento mori, or, remember that you will die.  The phrase lived on and began to describe a symbol or object, such as a skull, typically used in Christianity to remind Christians that earthly pleasures are fleeting and that your actions will be judged upon your demise.  Both the location of the phrase’s origination and its later association with Christian morality tie into Roman Fever.

                Immediately after describing the scene, the bells began to ring for five o’clock.  Then Mrs. Slade looks at her wristwatch and notes the time, “”Five o’clock already,” she said, as though surprised.”  Not only is it nearing twilight in the story, it is nearing the twilight of the protagonists’ lives.  Also, timepieces, such as watches, were often inscribed with memento mori to remind people that their time on earth decreases with each passing second.

                More importantly, memento mori draws attention to both characters’ questionable morals.  The traditional intention of a memento mori is to remind people to follow their moral codes so they can be happy with their lives upon death.  Both Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley did some things most would consider morally questionable.  The former forged a letter from the man she loved and sent it to her lifelong friend Mrs. Ansley in order to send her on a wild goose chase.  While the latter had an affair with her lifelong friend’s fiancé and, presumably, lied about both the affair and the paternity of her daughter to her husband.              

                Memento mori effectively ties the location and history of the phrase to the story and uses those connections to enhance the reader’s understanding of Roman Fever and its protagonists.