A Respectable Woman

-Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin, original name Katherine O’Flaherty (1851-1904) was an American novelist and short-story write. She was born and brought up in St. Louis and lived in New Orleans after getting married to Oscar Chopin. Her first novel At Fault appeared in 1890 and the second novel The Awakening in 1899. She wrote more than 100 short stories and among them, ‘Disiree’s Baby’, ‘Madame Celestin’s Divorce’ and ‘A Respectable Woman’ are more anthologized than others. The language in her novels and short stories is full of sexual connotations and her novel The Awakening was condemned for its sexual frankness and the publishers had refrained from publishing it. Later after 1950, her works were reinterpreted and she was praised for depicting modern sensibility. The story ‘A Respectable Woman’ is taken out from her collection The Awakening and Other Short Stories (2005).

•Genre: Story

•Setting: Sugar plantation form owned by Mr. Baroda in Louisiana

•Who is a respectable woman?

A respectable woman in the 19th century is the one who is a demure (modest and reserved) dependent, homemaker, who remains subservient (inferior, subordinate) to her husband. Arespectable woman is also the one who lives up to society's expectations of her and never tries to deviate from them. Yes,of course, she has dreams and desires but she suppresses them because she is a respectable woman.

•Themes:

Identity
Love and romance
Oppression and resistance
Psychological complexity

•The short story ‘A respectable woman’ is structured around the character of Mrs. Baroda and her inner conflict as she finds herself attracted to her husband’s friend. The conflict follows the pattern of classical fiction and moves from exposition to rising action and then to climax to resolution.

•Characters:

Gaston Baroda: Owner of the sugar Plantation farm.
Mrs. Baroda: Wife of Mr. Baroda
Gouvernail: College days friend of Mr. Baroda and is a journalist
Octavie : Aunt of Mrs. Baroda

•Short Summary

Mrs Baroda finds that Gouvernail, her husband’s friend, is staying with them on their plantation. She is dissatisfied with this because they had been having a lot of fun and she had hoped for a break. She’d never met the man but had heard a lot of good things about him. Upon seeing him, she develops a fancy for him right away. However, she notices that he has a mystery about him that she can’t describe and that she attempts to solve regularly. She assures her husband that she would be better once the man has left because he is different from other visits, which puzzles her. She makes the decision to depart till he has left.

She sits on a bench outside that night, pondering why he makes her feel so uncomfortable. Gouvernail runs into her late at night and tells her that her husband gave him a scarf to gift her while she’s gone. The two sat in silence after exchanging a few words. He starts talking, but she doesn’t pay attention because her body is drawn to him. She wants to hug him, but her reputation as “a respectable woman” prevents her from doing so. She begins to pull away from him as a result of this sensation. She eventually departs and returns home, debating whether or not to notify her husband. She also refuses and retires to her bed. She has left before the others have even gotten out of bed the next morning.

She returns after Gouvernail has left and initially objects to his reappearance. However, she champions his visit within a year, much to her husband’s surprise. She simply states that she has overcome all obstacles and will treat him with respect.

Understanding the text

•Answer the following questions:

a. Why was Mrs. Baroda unhappy with the information about Gouvernail’s visit to their farm?

Answer: Mrs. Baroda was disappointed with the information about Gouvernail’s visit to their farm because she had planned a period of rest and conversation with her husband, after their busy life all winter.

b. How was Gouvernail different from Mrs. Baroda’s expectation?

Answer: Mrs. Baroda had never met Gouvernail but she had drawn the picture of Gouvernail in her mind which she didn’t like. She assumed him to be slim, tall, cynical; with eyeglasses, and his hands in his pockets but, when she met slim, neither tall nor cynical Gouvernail, who also was inoffensive and lovable, she liked him.

c. How does Mrs. Baroda compare Gouvernail with her husband?

Answer: In the story, Mrs. Baroda hasn’t made a direct comparison between her husband and his friend but we can assume her perception towards both the males through her attitude. Mrs. Baroda finds Gouvernail boring, unintelligent, reserved and rather passive who likes to sit around lazily and listens to others’ conversation. However, he is courteous towards her and is an inoffensive and lovable fellow. So, she finds him attractive. Contrary to Gouvernail, she finds her husband a chatty, sociable and adventurous person but, he doesn’t listen to her and imposes his decision on her.

d. Why and how did Mrs. Baroda try to change the solitary habits of Gouvernail?

Answer: Mrs. Baroda learned that Gouvernail’s had none of those promising and brilliant traits which Gaston had told her that he possessed. He remained mute and receptive despite the couple’s chatty hospitality. Though he was inoffensive and lovable, he was not sociable. When she couldn’t understand him any better, she tried to change his solitary habits. At first she tried to change his habits by becoming chatty and hospitable. When he made no efforts from his side, she accompanied him in his walks outside.

e. How does Gaston disagree with his wife on Gouvernail’s character?

Answer: To Mrs. Baroda, Gouvernail is uninteresting, mute, reserved, not sociable and boring. But, Mr. Baroda thinks his friend is very nice, clever, promising and brilliant. Mr. Baroda defends his friend’s passiveness by putting everything on the overwork he has to do.

f. Why is Mr. Baroda surprised with his wife’s expression towards the end of the story?

Answer: During the Gouvernail’s stay on their farm, Mrs. Baroda complained about his presence to Mr. Baroda. He is surprised by his wife’s expression towards the end of the story because she proposed herself to have Gouvernail visit their farm.

Reference to the context:

a. What is the cause of conflict in Mrs. Baroda’s mind? What role does Mrs. Baroda ‘being a respectable woman’ play in the story?

Answer: Mrs. Baroda falls in love with her husband’s friend despite his puzzling personality. She is terrified of such feelings causing damage to her dignity. She knows society would not approve such behaviour of a married woman. The arousal of romantic feelings toward Gouvernail and her compulsion to share the same sphere with him is the cause of conflict in Mrs. Baroda’s mind. Mrs. Baroda goes through a difficult time in her life when she helplessly falls in love with a man outside her marriage which is completely against the societal rules. Governail’s visit shakes her mental peace. She is in love with him but doesn’t reveal this to anyone because she knows the consequences of the deviation from what is expected from a good woman. She even gains control over her physical urges to touch him. She pulls herself back from such taboo desires. She uses her sensibility not to seek help to solve this matter so, she leaves the house to avoid the sight of Gouvernail. She makes up her personal desire to remain respectable.

b. Sketch the Character of Gouvernail and contrast it with Gaston.

Answer: Gouvernail is a journalist, who is a college day’s friend of Gaston. He is slim enough and not very tall. He is reserved, and sits mute and receptive listening to the couple’s conversation. He doesn’t share much about his present life and situation. He loves natural life as he listens to Gaston’s experience of sugar plantation and appreciates his life in farm. He is not a sociable person as he shows no interest in adventure proposed by Gaston. Gouvernail is difficult to understand as he leads a solitary life. He is an ignorant person. He doesn’t notice Mrs. Baroda’s presence. He doesn’t make any effort to impress Mrs. Baroda but he remains cordial toward her. He is unpredictable. He turns chatty and intimately talks to Mrs. Baroda one evening. In the story, he is presented as not a society man or “a man about town” and “a smoker”.

Gouvernail is completely different from Gaston. Unlike Gouvernail, Gaston is involved in his own sugar plantation business. He is sociable person who loves to have friends around. He is considerate person that is why he invites his friend for respite. He values the presence of others. He doesn’t keep himself away from others like Gouvernail. He is chatty and hospitable. He is an adventurous person. He loves outdoor activities like fishing and hunting. He doesn’t like sitting idle and smoking. He keeps himself busy either by working or having visitors at home. Though they are good friends for a really long time, they are poles apart.

c. Why does Mrs. Baroda not disclose her feelings towards Gouvernail to her husband?

Answer: Mrs. Baroda commits a folly and is heavily tempted to tell her husband about it. But then, she realizes that she shouldn’t disclose it to anybody as nobody will approve of such behaviour of a married woman. She knows that there are some battles in life that a human being must fight alone. She decides not to depend on her husband to resolve the matter. So, the fear of going against society and the realization of her individuality prevents her from disclosing her love feelings towards Gouvernail to her husband.

d. The last three sentences of the story bring a kind of twist. After reading these three sentences, how do you analyze Mrs. Baroda’s attitude towards Gouvernail.

Answer: The story has an ambiguous ending. At the end of the story, we can see a massive change in Mrs. Baroda’s attitude. She proposes wholly to her husband to have Gouvernail back to their farm. She tells him that she has overcome everything but it is not clear what actually she has overcome. It can have two possible meanings:

- It is possible that she is talking about overcoming her romantic feelings towards Gouvernail. When people overcome their love feelings towards someone, they don’t get offended by the person’s presence. She says, “I will be nice to him”, which could mean she will not be affected by his presence and will treat him nicely like any other visitor.

- Another possible meaning is that she is talking about overcoming her fear of society. She is possibly saying that she doesn’t fear anyone and will do what her heart pleases without worrying about social duty. She will be nice to him means, she will express her love and get romantically involved with him.

Reference beyond the text

a. The entry of an outsider into a family has been a recurring subject in both literature and films. Narrate a story real or imaginative where an outsider’s arrival destroys the intimate relationship between the husband and the wife and causes break up in marital relationship without direct fault of anyone. Anton’sChekhov’s story ‘About Love’ is a story on this subject.

b. Mrs. Baroda makes an expectation about Gouvernail even before meeting him. Suppose you are a mature girl/boy and your family members are giving you pressure for getting married. Write in about 200 words describing what qualities you would like to get in your future husband/wife.

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