The
story flows as expected. A Respectable Woman by Kate Chopin tells the real
respected woman of a charecter named Mrs. Baroda and I like this story because
I can relate to her thoughts of how we imagined someone who always being talked
about by our close person, is actually different from what we heard and the
reality. I know that feeling when we expected something good but it turns out to
be disappointing. Another thing that I like about the story is the character of
Mrs. Baroda’s attitude as a woman and a wife that should be really appreciated.
She can handle her feeling from disliking her husband’s friend to becomes
interested. When she realizes her true feeling towards her husband’s friend, she
chooses to stay away for avoiding him and keep her pride and loyalty as a wife, “She did not return till Gouvernail was
gone from under her roof.” (Page 3, Paragraph 4).
A
Respectable Woman is a story that easy to understand because the plot wasn’t complicated
at all. The story starts from exposition, when the author introduces the three
characters of this story in the beginning where Gaston and his wife, Mrs.
Baroda was expecting his friend named Gouvernail to come to their house. Mrs.
Baroda has pictured Gouvernail as a good and clever-looking man, as how she’s
been heard frequently from her husband.
“She
had unconsciously formed an image of him in her mind. She pictured him tall,
slim, cynical; with eye-glasses, and his hands in his pockets” (3rd Paragraph)
Sadly,
her expectation of Gouvernail was wrong. This is where the rising action
happens. Mrs. Baroda seems to be disappointed when she met her husband’s friend because she didn't find the good traits of him at all. The Gouvernail was very
different from how her husband described him to her. But even though she felt
disappointed, she still tries to observe him first and she should be liked him because
he’s a lovable and inoffensive fellow. But still, she felt puzzled by his
attitude and remains piqued. (7th
Paragraph).
The
attitude of Mrs. Baroda as a wife was so elegant. When she tried to complain
about the Gouvernail to Gaston, she asks him softly. They talk in a romantic way
with a bit of contention that Mrs. Baroda told her husband how disappointed she
was when she found out nothing of the Gouvernail that suit his words before.
“Nonsense!
How can you say such a thing? Commotion, indeed! But, you know, you said he was clever.” (8th Paragraph)
Instead of ordering
her husband to drive off his friend for her ease, she told him that it’s better
if she went for a while to make the Gouvernail comfortable in their house.
“I’m
going to the city in the morning to have my spring gowns fitted. Let me know when Mr. Gouvernail is gone; I shall
be at my Aunt Octavie’s.” (8th
Paragraph)
After
she told her husband that she will go to her Aunt’s place, she went to a bench
and sat there. Thinking of her intentions that become confusing. This part
brings us to the climax. When Mrs. Baroda sitting on the bench and Gouvernail
came up to her all of sudden and sit beside her. He brought a scarf from Gaston
to gave it to Mrs. Baroda. Gouvernail started the conversation by reciting
lines of poetry and then the topic went splay. He talked freely and intimately
that it made Mrs. Baroda amazed by him. Her mind goes wild at that time, she
wanted to do some skinship with Gouvernail but she handled it.
“She
wanted to reach out her hand in the darkness and touch him with the sensitive tips
of her fingers upon the face or the
lips. She wanted to draw close to him” (15th
Paragraph)
I
admire her when she fights with the internal conflict of herself when desire
comes up to her but she still thinks of her pride as a respectable woman. So,
it comes to falling action that Mrs. Baroda could hold her desire to touch
Gouvernail and end up she went back home.
On
the resolution, Mrs. Baroda has departed to her Aunt’s place in the morning
after that night. And sometimes later, when she came back home, she has a talk
with her husband about having Gouvernail back to their house. Mrs. Baroda, at
that time, has overcome everything, she realized that being a respectable woman
was a very sensible one for her. So it wouldn’t be a problem if Gouvernail comes to visit them again.
Conclusion
The story describes how a woman should keep her attitude to become respected and
keep the loyalty for the husband. It shows that being a respected woman needs an effort to fight with our own internal conflict like hating and desire.
Komentar
Posting Komentar