In “A Respectable Woman”, a short story wrote by Kate Chopin delves into the psychology of Mrs. Baroda, a wealthy woman with a loving husband who faces temptation in the person of Gouvernail, a polite, unassuming visitor to the Baroda plantation. The story talks about a couple that had a plantation in a city. In the story Gaston invite his college friend, Gouvernail to spend time on his plantation. Nevertheless, Mrs. Baroda she has found the strength to triumph over her emotions, Mrs. Baroda approaches her husband and offers a sweetly ambiguous statement that reopens the question of her intent to act upon her emotions.
She tells him, “I have overcome everything! You will see. This time I shall be very nice to him. ” At first glance, this statement seems to suggest that Mrs. Baroda has regained control of her emotions. Thought the story Mrs. Baroda is presented as a women that had a good imagination, a women that was polite, and a women that was a decent and respectable. One of the qualities that Mrs. Baroda presented on the story is her good imagination. Through the story the reader could easily recognize that Mrs. Baroda had such a good imagination.
In the story it is shows how Mrs. Baroda had imagine Mr. Gouvernil’s appearance on her mind with out having meeting him before. Overcoming “everything” seems to mean that she has overcome not only her displeasure about Gouvernail, but also her unrespectable romantic feelings. However, because she modulates her announcement with the insinuation that she will be “very nice” to him on his next visit, she may mean that after overcoming her doubts and her mental restrictions, she has decided to sate her desires in favor of having an affair.
Chopin leaves the meaning of this declaration unclear, but knowing what we know about her understanding attitude toward female sexual independence we might infer that Chopin is entertaining the idea that Mrs. Baroda will resist the ethical standards of her society and discover more about her needs and available choices as a woman. She does not choose to see Gouvernail again until, some months later, she determines that she has defeated her baser emotions, and her assurance to Gaston Baroda indicates that she will feel free to treat Gouvernail with more courtesy, since she is no longer attracted to him.
Although this possible interpretation of “A Respectable Woman” Mrs. Baroda decides to indulge her self when Gouvernail visits. She faces a similar conflict within herself, but she comes to realize that she considers her individual identity as a woman to be more important than her social identity as a respectable woman. The fact that she initially does not understand her troubled feelings about Gouvernail suggests that she has never felt the same spark with her husband. Gaston appears to be a kindly and worthy man.
By choosing to invite Gouvernail for a second visit, she shows that she has developed a new comprehension and appreciation of herself, and in possibly having an affair; she hopes to find what has previously been missing in her life. Another quality Mrs. Baroda presented in the story is her politeness. Mrs. Baroda is presented as a woman behaved respectfully towards others. One of the most important qualities that Mrs. Baroda has on the story is the fact that she was not only decent women but also respectable one.
In fact the name of the story “ A respectable Women “ was an appropriate description of what Mrs. Baroda was. The story shows Mrs. Baroda as a woman that possessed a variety of qualities. One of the qualities she had was the ability to imagine things. Thought out the story Mrs. Baroda did not like some of the Gouvernail’s attitudes but she learns to deal with it at the time. Also Mrs. Baroda was tempted to be unfaithful to her husband however she refrained from being unfaithful because she was a respectable Woman.
