Babylon Revisited and Roman Fever

In both the short stories "Babylon Revisited" by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "Roman Fever" by Edith Wharton the main characters are American who have become disenchanted with their home country. Each leaves their homeland behind in order to retrieve something that they cannot get in the United States, either adventure or 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 nice person. As a matter of fact, both characters are rather reprehensible in the ways that they acted in their youths and have tried to abandon their responsibilities and the repercussions of their past behaviors. In the end, both characters are forced to face the mistakes of their past and in that moment have to understand that the choices made long ago will continue to affect...
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