Class 12 English Guide A Respectable Woman By:-Kate Chopin Exercise Question Answer With Solution

 Class 12 English Guide A Respectable Woman By:-Kate Chopin

     2. A Respectable Woman  By:-Kate Chopin 

Main Summary

            The famous story ' Respected Woman' has been written by Kate Chopin,an American wtiter. Mrs Baroda, her husband Mr. Gaston and Mr. Gouvnernail  are the main characters of this story. The short story  is centered around the main character, Mrs. Baroda and her inner conflict as she finds herself attracted to her husband's friend.

              When Mrs. Baroda learns that her husband's friend Gouvernail is going to spend a week or two at their plantation, she becomes a little upset. After all, they had been busy all winter, and she had hoped to use the time to relax and talk with her husband Gaston Baroda, and have some good time with him. She has never met Gouvernail, despite the fact that she is aware that Gouvnernail and her husband were friends in college and that he is now a successful journalist. She has a mental image of him as a tall, slender, and cynical guy, and she does not care for this mental image. 

         A strange thing happens after that. When she meets Gouvernail, who is slim but neither tall nor cynical, she discovers that she really likes him.Mrs. Baroda wonders why she loves Gouvernail since he makes no special effort to impress her in any other way, She does not recognize any of the good characteristics mentioned by Gaston as being there. He loves sitting on the field and listening to Gaston explaining sugar plantation methods. He does not seem to be very bright, but he does appear calm and polite.  Mrs. Baroda finds Gouvernail to be a little confusing, yet she finds him to be charming and unoffensive. Unlike what she had thought of him, she finds him way better than she expected.

             She first leaves him alone with her husband, but she soon starts to join him on walks as she tries to overcome his solitary habits. Gouvernail behaved quite simply and didn't pay much attention to Mrs. Baroda. Mrs. Baroda found various deficiencies within him. 

Her husband informs her that he will be staying for another week and inquires as to why she does not want him to remain longer with her. Mrs. Baroda expresses surprise at Gaston's arrival, by saying that she expected him to be more fascinating. Gaston finds it amusing that she replies by saying she would like him to be more interesting.Later that night, she sits alone on a bench, feeling befuddled and wanting to get away from the plantation for a time. She has informed her husband that she intends to go to the city in the morning and stay with her aunt while on leave. 

                     Meanwhile, Gouvernail entered and took a seat next to her. On Gaston's behalf, he presented her with a scarf. He began to speak about the night, the olden days, and his preference for peaceful environment. For the first time, Mrs. Baroda saw him talking. She didn't pay attention to his words, but she was drawn to the tones of his voice. She longed to extend her hand towards him and place her delicate fingers on his face or lips. She wanted to kiss his cheek and mumble something sweet. She kept her cool, however. Her self-respect as a respectable woman and housewife kept her from making this awful blunder. She rose up and walked away from the scene. 

                  Mrs. Baroda wants to inform Gaston about her trip, but she does not tell the event which happened with Gouvernail with her husband.  She says that She goes for the city the next morning and does not return until Gouvernail has left the city. Despite Gaston's best efforts, Gouvernail refuses to come back the next summer. In the end, she changes her mind, much to the pleasure of her husband, she said that she would now treat him with greater hospitality and the story ends.

Answer the following questions.

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

➜ Mrs Baroda was unhappy with the information about Gouvernail’s visit to their farm because he was a man. she'd heard a lot about but had never met. She was unhappy also because she had planned a period of rest and conversation with her husband, Gaston Baroda from their busy life throughout all winter.

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

➜ Gouvernail was different from Mrs Baroda’s expectation as Mrs Baroda initially thought Gouvernail was confusing and boring, and that he was not clever and funny man that her husband had told her about. She imagined him to be tall, thin, and doubtful person, wearing eyeglasses and holding his hands in his pockets, and she disliked him. But one night on her plantation, she had a chat with him that transformed(changed) her dislike for him into a wish for connection with him.

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

➜ Mrs Baroda finds Gouvernail attractive, but she does not perceive the same quality in him as her husband.  She couldn't find any of the brilliant and promising qualities that Gaston, her husband, had often informed her he possessed in him. Despite his good manners, Mrs Baroda considers him unsociable in comparison to her husband because he does not appear to be paying attention to her.

d. Why and how did Mrs Baroda try to change Gouvernail’s solitary habits?

➜ Mrs Baroda tried to change Gouvernail's unsociable habits because she didn't expect a sadness over his presence and he was no more interested in facts. She expected him to be more interesting. She attempted to change his unsociable habits by convincing him to be more talkative and adaptable to the situation.

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

➜ Gaston disagrees with his wife's on Gouvernail's character as a less interesting and shy figure, indicating rather that he is a remarkable, friendly, interesting, and talkative figure.

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

➜ Gaston is surprised with his wife’s expression towards the end of the story because she proposes by herself to have Gouvernail visit them again before the year ended which he has not ever expected from her side.

g. Sketch the character of Gouvernail and contrast it with Gaston.

➜ From the short story "A Respectable Woman", we can find that Gouvernail in the present is a journalist. He is not as social as his friend Gaston since he does not appear to pay enough attention to the people around him. 

Gaston is the story's only supporting character. He highly appreciates his friend Gouvernail, describing him as "intelligent" and a "man of ideas" to his wife. Gaston also appears to love his wife, addressing her as "ma bell" or "chère amie."

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

➜ Her beliefs about what makes a woman respectable in society take priority over her feelings and desires. Her fear of what society might think of her and her perception that she is a respectable woman prevented Mrs Baroda from telling her husband about her emotions for Gouvernail.