A Respectable Woman Summary (Class 12 Com. English)

A Respectable Woman

- Kate Chopin

Brief and Simple Summary:

When the story opens, we see Gaston’s wife, Mrs. Baroda unhappy because she knows that her husband’s friend, Gouvernail is going to visit them. She also knows that Gouvernail is spending a week or two at their home. Baroda family is busy all winter in their own work, so Mrs. Baroda wants to spend her quality time with her husband. In her life, she has never seen Gouvernail, but she has heard about him from her husband’s college stories. So, she has made a picture of him in her mind. In fact, she has made a negative picture about the man. She thinks that he would be tall,  slim and cynical with eyeglasses. When he arrives, she does not find him tall, slim and cynical with eyeglasses. Rather she finds him as an interesting person. Gaston has described about the positive qualities of his friend, Gouvernail. Though she does not find all those qualities in him, she likes him. He is quiet, loveable, inoffensive and courteous man rather than brilliant one. Gaston describes him about his sugar planting in his plantation area. Mrs. Baroda finds him strange and mysterious, but she can’t explain her inner feeling about him. She likes him, but she doesn’t have reasons for it. For her, he is not like other guests. She initially leaves him with her husband, but when she works to overcome his nervousness, she starts giving company to him on walks. One night, she is resting outside on a bench and thinking about Gouvernail, and she realizes that his strange behaviour is attracting her towards him. At the same time, Gouvernail comes there. He brings a scarf for her. He says that it is given by her husband. They remain silent after some talks. She feels that her body is attracted towards him, but she resists it. Ultimately, she realizes that she is a respectable woman, and then she leaves the place without saying anything to him. Next morning, she goes to a city for staying with her aunt before others get up. After some time, she returns to her house after Gouvernail leaves their house. Then she kisses her husband and promises to be very nice to him. At the end, she requests her husband to invite Gouvernail again by the end of the year because now she can handle him with more respect and love.