A Respectable Woman_Summary, Analysis and Question Answers | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 1 Short Stories
Grade 12: English
Section Two: Literature
Unit 1: Short stories
Lesson 2. A Respectable Woman by Kate Chopin
Introduction
Kate Chopin, original name Katherine O’Flaherty (1851- 1904) was an American novelist and short-story writer. 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 s**ual 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). 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 and resolution.
Also Check:
[alert type=alert_success]Curriculum of Grade 12-XII | Compulsory English | Subject Code:004 | 2076 | DOWNLOAD.[/alert]
View These Too ...
Grade 12: Section 2, Unit-1 Short Stories ...
Neighbours_Summary, Analysis and Question Answers_Lesson 1 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 1 Short Stories.
A Respectable Woman_Summary, Analysis and Question Answers_Lesson 2 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 1 Short Stories.
A Devoted Son_Summary, Analysis and Question Answers_Lesson 3 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 1 Short Stories.
The Treasure in the Forest_Summary, Analysis and Question Answers_Lesson 4 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 1 Short Stories.
My Old Home_Summary, Analysis and Question Answers_Lesson 5 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 1 Short Stories.
The Half-closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun_Summary, Analysis and Question Answers_Lesson 6 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 1 Short Stories.
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings_Summary, Analysis and Question Answers_Lesson 7 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 1 Short Stories.
Grade 12: Section 2, Unit 2 Poems ...
A Day_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 1 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 2 Poems.
Every Morning I Wake_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 2 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 2 Poems.
I Was My Own Route_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 3 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 2 Poems.
The Awakening Age_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 4 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 2 Poems.
Soft Storm_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 5 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 2 Poems.
Grade 12: Section 2, Unit 3 Essays ...
On Libraries_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 1 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 3 Essays.
Marriage as a Social Institution_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 2 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 3 Essays.
Knowledge and Wisdom_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 3 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 3 Essays.
Humility_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 4 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 3 Essays.
Human Rights and the Age of Inequality_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 5 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 3 Essays.
Grade 12: Section 2, Unit 4 One-act Plays ...
A Matter for Husband_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 1 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 4 One-act Plays.
Facing Death_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 2 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 4 One-act Plays.
The Bull_Summary, Analysis and Question Answer_Lesson 3 | Grade 12: English_Section II: Literature | Unit 4 One-act Plays.
Characters:
- 1. Gaston Baroda: the husband
- 2. Mrs. Baroda: the wife of Gaston Baroda who is attracted towards her husband’s friend
- 3. Gouvernail: friend of Gaston Baroda who visits the family
Summary of the short story "A Respectable Woman" by Kate Chopin.
Mrs. Baroda is a little disappointed to learn that her husband expects his friend Gouvernail to spend a week or two at their plantation as they had been busy all winter, and she had planned a period of rest and conversation with her husband Gaston Baroda. She has never met Gouvernail, although she knows that he and her husband had been friends in college and that he is now a journalist. She pictures him as a tall, slim, cynical man with eyeglasses and did not like the mental image, but when she meets the slim but neither tall nor cynical Gouvernail, she finds that she was actually wrong in her perception and she indeed likes him in her first encounter with him.
Mrs. Baroda cannot explain why she likes Gouvernail, since she does not see all of the positive traits described by Gaston. He does not seem brilliant, but he does seem quiet and courteous in response to her eagerness to welcome him and her husband's hospitality. He makes no direct appeal to impress her otherwise, and he enjoys sitting on the portico (porch) and listening to Gaston’s experience as a sugar planter. But, he does not like to fish or hunt.
Although Gouvernail puzzles Mrs. Baroda, he is a lovable and inoffensive fellow. She leaves him alone with her husband at first but soon begins to accompany him on walks as she attempts to penetrate (enter) into the reserve in which he has unconsciously enveloped himself. Her husband tells her that he will stay for another week and asks why she does not wish him to stay. She responds that she would prefer him to be more demanding, which amuses Gaston.
Gaston tells Mrs. Baroda that Gouvernail does not expect a commotion (confusion and disturbance) over his presence and that he simply wishes for a break from his busy life, although she declares that she expected him to be more interesting. Later that night, she sits by herself on a bench, feeling confused and wanting to leave the plantation for a while, having told her husband that she is go to the city in the morning and will be with her aunt. Then Gouvernail happens to pass by and notices her sitting there and goes near her and seats himself next to her, not knowing her displeasure at his presence.
Gouvernail hands her a scarf on Gaston's behalf and murmurs about the night, and his silence disappears as he becomes talkative for the first time. He speaks to her of the old days and of his desire for a peaceful existence. She does not listen to his words so much as his voice, and she thinks of drawing him closer, although she resists because she is "a respectable woman." The stronger the impulse grows to bring herself near him, the further, in fact, does she draw away from him. Eventually, she leaves, and Gouvernail remains behind, finishing his address to the night.
Mrs. Baroda wants to tell Gaston of her strange folly (craziness), but she realizes sensibly that she must handle this feeling by herself. Besides being a respectable woman she is a very sensible one; and she knows there are some battles in life which a human being must fight alone. The next morning, she leaves for the city and does not return until Gouvernail departs. Gaston wants Gouvernail to return the next summer, but she refuses. She later changes her mind, delighting her husband, who tells her that Gouvernail did not deserve her dislike. She kisses her husband and tells him that she has "overcome everything" and that she will now treat him more nicely.
Thematic Analysis of the short story "A Respectable Woman" by Kate Chopin:
‘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 and resolution. In "A Respectable Woman," 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. Mrs. Baroda does not instantly recognize what she really wants and eventually struggles with the self-imposed limitations of her identity as "a respectable woman."
Nevertheless, just as the narrative implies that 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. 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 state her desires in favour of having an affair. Chopin purposely leaves the meaning of this declaration unclear, but knowing what we know about her understanding and 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.
Thus, depending on whether we read Mrs. Baroda's final decision as a repression of her desires or as a plan to pursue fulfilment of her emotions, our interpretation of Mrs. Baroda's character development can take one of two radically different paths. In the first case, we can view Mrs. Baroda as a woman who has never before faced any true emotional tests in her comfortable life as the mistress of her plantation. In this account of the story, Mrs. Baroda then undergoes a mental conflict within herself, and the climax of the story occurs at her decision to leave Gouvernail and take the train to the city--while she reminds herself that she is a respectable 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" would provide an interesting study of a character who discovers the strength of her will, the second main interpretation of the story is in many ways more interesting in its implications. In the alternative analysis, Mrs. Baroda effectively decides to indulge herself when Gouvernail visits. She faces a 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, although 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.
A related issue besides that of female sexuality in "A Respectable Woman" is that of female independence. Indeed, traditional, respectable marriage in Mrs. Baroda’s milieu does not permit affairs. Mrs. Baroda seems to make a significant decision in choosing to ignore the sexual and emotional bonds of marriage in order to expand her horizons. Many of Chopin's female heroines triumph by challenging, transgressing, or overcoming boundaries, and Mrs. Baroda is no exception. Her boundaries are implemented through the social idea of respectability.
Notably, Chopin never introduces Mrs. Baroda's first name, suggesting that she has previously identified herself in terms of her attachment to her husband, but it may be that her future affair will allow her to reclaim a stronger individual identity and sense of self.
Question Answers of the short story "A Respectable Woman" by Kate Chopin.
Exercises
Understanding the text:
Answer the following questions.
a. Why was Mrs. Baroda not happy with the information about Gouvernail’s visit to their farm?
Answer: Mrs. Baroda was not happy because she was looking forward to a period of unbroken rest with her husband, Gaston Baroda, just to get rid from their stressful lifestyle that lasted throughout the whole winter season. In addition, Mrs. Baroda was already displeased with the information she'd received regarding Gouvernail from her husband and she had formed a different picture of him in her mind as he was a guy she'd heard a lot about but had never seen until that point in time.
b. How was Gouvernail different from Mrs. Baroda’s expectation?
Answer:
TO SEE ALL THE QUESTION ANSWERS - PLEASE CLICK THE LINK BELOW. Thank You.
Link is Secure!😊
A Respectable Woman | Summary, Analysis and Question Answers | Grade 12
- ©drg/Indra Bhusal/Jhalak Rana
[button href=https://www.dhanraj.com.np/ style=outlined elcreative_ripple]Search Terms:[/button]
[alert type=alert_info]A Respectable Woman., Kate Chopin/Katherine O’Flaherty., Summary, Analysis and Question Answers of Lesson 2 'A Respectable Woman'., Grade/Class 12 English Short Stories Summary, Question and Answers., Class 12 "A Respectable Woman" Summary, Analysis and Question Answers of Compulsory English Section II Literature Unit 1 Short Stories., Kate Chopin's "A Respectable Woman"., Class 12 Short Stories Summary, Analysis and Question Answers., Download in PDF Question Answers of "A Respectable Woman" by Kate Chopin., Class-12 English New Course Summary, Analysis and Question Answers of A Respectable Woman by Kate Chopin., Grade Class 12 Unit 1 Short Stories "A Respectable Woman" Notes by Katherine O’Flaherty., Class 12 A Respectable Woman Question and Answers., NEB Class 12 Question Answers of A Respectable Woman., NEB Class 12 Summary of A Respectable Woman by Kate Chopin., A Respectable Woman Class 12 Exercise.[/alert]
Suggestions and/or questions are always welcome, either post them in the comment form or send me an email at drgurung82@gmail.com.
However, comments are always reviewed and it may take some time to appear. Always keep in mind "URL without nofollow tag" will consider as a spam.
To add an image:
[image] image_url [/image]
To add a code block:
[code] your_code [/code]
To add a quote:
[quote] your_quote [/quote]
To add a link:
[link] your_link_text | link_url [/link]