"I had Barbara," she said, and began to move ahead of Ms. Slade toward the stairway.
Suddenly, Ms. Slade, with the athleticism of someone 50 years younger, leaped out of her chair. Ms. Ansley jerked backwards, slightly in fear, in shock of this sudden assertion by her once-friend. Ms. Slade screamed, "Barbara is Delphin's? I'll kill you!"
Ms. Slade gracefully and ferociously leaped onto Ms. Ansley, slamming her onto the ground. She began viciously swiping her luxury purse at the woman she now hated, no longer caring about its material value, only about pummeling Ms. Ansley.
"You bet your *ss she is! Delphin told me he loved her more than he loved Jenny!" Ms. Ansley retorted back.
This only pushed Ms. Slade further. She ripped her friend's scarf off her wrinkly neck, and before immediately wrapping it back onto Ms. Ansley, this time much tighter tied.
Ms. Ansley began sputtering for air, as Ms. Slade cackled.
"Yeah, you had Barbara, but will Barbara ever have you again?"
The End
I decided to write this slightly-sordid, but mostly in jest, alternative ending for "Roman Fever" mainly because I wanted to add some irony to the story. I decided to make the audience certain that Barbara actually was the child of Delphin, because to me, the main theme of the story was the search of the truth, especially when it has been so guised in deception. By using a shocking fight scene, where Ms. Slade and Ms. Ansley are able to finally be completely honest, I felt that I was able to show the two ladies' rivalry from another side: a more direct opposition/argument, rather than one so deceitful and, to be honest, so confusing. Also, I thought that it was funny to have two pompous old ladies fighting each other, which adds to the action of a story previously having all the present events be so relatively uneventful. I think it's even funnier when you consider it an ironic play on the "catfight" trope: instead of like how many authors lazily add forced sex appeal by creating a vicious fight between two female characters, I decided to turn the gimmick on its head by making the "catfight" between two old women, who, funnily enough, are still just as vicious as in the movies.
Suddenly, Ms. Slade, with the athleticism of someone 50 years younger, leaped out of her chair. Ms. Ansley jerked backwards, slightly in fear, in shock of this sudden assertion by her once-friend. Ms. Slade screamed, "Barbara is Delphin's? I'll kill you!"
Ms. Slade gracefully and ferociously leaped onto Ms. Ansley, slamming her onto the ground. She began viciously swiping her luxury purse at the woman she now hated, no longer caring about its material value, only about pummeling Ms. Ansley.
"You bet your *ss she is! Delphin told me he loved her more than he loved Jenny!" Ms. Ansley retorted back.
This only pushed Ms. Slade further. She ripped her friend's scarf off her wrinkly neck, and before immediately wrapping it back onto Ms. Ansley, this time much tighter tied.
Ms. Ansley began sputtering for air, as Ms. Slade cackled.
"Yeah, you had Barbara, but will Barbara ever have you again?"
The End
I decided to write this slightly-sordid, but mostly in jest, alternative ending for "Roman Fever" mainly because I wanted to add some irony to the story. I decided to make the audience certain that Barbara actually was the child of Delphin, because to me, the main theme of the story was the search of the truth, especially when it has been so guised in deception. By using a shocking fight scene, where Ms. Slade and Ms. Ansley are able to finally be completely honest, I felt that I was able to show the two ladies' rivalry from another side: a more direct opposition/argument, rather than one so deceitful and, to be honest, so confusing. Also, I thought that it was funny to have two pompous old ladies fighting each other, which adds to the action of a story previously having all the present events be so relatively uneventful. I think it's even funnier when you consider it an ironic play on the "catfight" trope: instead of like how many authors lazily add forced sex appeal by creating a vicious fight between two female characters, I decided to turn the gimmick on its head by making the "catfight" between two old women, who, funnily enough, are still just as vicious as in the movies.
In the ending of "Roman Fever", we see the helplessness of Ms. Slade as Ms. Ansley walks past her. This alternative ending was interesting and very unexpected because Ms. Slade fights back. I really liked the line "you had Barbara, but will Barbara ever have you again".
ReplyDeleteI found this alternative ending to "Roman Fever" really funny, and appreciated your inclusion of details like Mrs. Slade's expensive purse and Mrs. Ansley's scarf. Your point about the fight making explicit what is couched in deceit and passive aggression throughout the story is also interesting. -Ms. O'Brien
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