26 pages • 52 minutes read
A Respectable Woman
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Symbols & Motifs
The White Scarf
The white scarf that Gouvernail brings to Mrs. Baroda at the request of her husband is a physical reminder of her marriage and her role within it. As an item that she typically wears over her head and shoulders, it visually recalls a bridal veil, making it a symbol for her status as a wife within this story.
The fact that this scarf is delivered by Gouvernail, amid Mrs. Baroda’s attempt to sort through her thoughts and feelings, advances the theme of Devotion Versus Desire. This is further highlighted by Mrs. Baroda’s response to the white scarf. Instead of automatically putting it on, as might be expected, Mrs. Baroda “let it lie in her lap” (Paragraph 20). This ambiguous action reflects that she has not yet made up her mind regarding the two men and her relationship to them. It also foreshadows the story’s ambiguous ending.
Gouvernail’s Name
“Gouvernail” is a French name that translates to “rudder,” the device used for steering a boat. There is much speculation about this name and what it might symbolize in terms of this character’s impact in the story.
While Gouvernail does nothing consciously or directly to steer Mrs. Baroda away from her role as a “respectable woman” and devoted wife, his presence does trigger the changes to her character. His way of connecting with the physical world differs from hers. This also impacts her way of experiencing the world as she recognizes the sensation of desire. The name could also symbolize what is to come after the story’s ambiguous ending: There is the possibility that Gouvernail will steer Mrs. Baroda toward a new way of seeing the world, and perhaps even a new life altogether.
Poetry
The motif of poetry is associated with Gouvernail, the way he views and responds to the world, and his effect on Mrs. Baroda. Compared to traditional narrative writing, poetry is often unpredictable and full of sensory detail. Poetry of the Romantic era reflected a special connection between the poet, emotion, and the natural world. All of these features resonate with Gouvernail’s characterization. He is unpredictable from the beginning, deeply connected to nature, and evokes surprising emotions for Mrs. Baroda. As Gaston is to Gouvernail, so prose is to poetry.
In Gouvernail’s “apostrophe to the night” (Paragraph 22), he briefly quotes Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”: “Night of south winds—night of the large few stars! Still nodding night—” (Paragraph 21). The reference to Whitman, one of the foremost poets of the Romantic era, further associates this character with features of poetry and Romanticism. Even the narrative’s description of his speech, calling it an “apostrophe,” underlines the character’s lyric quality. In rhetoric, an apostrophe is a part of a speech or poem addressed to a person or, in more poetic cases, an abstract personified entity (“the night”).
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By Kate Chopin
