A Respectable Woman

“She rather liked him when he first presented himself. But why she liked him she could not explain satisfactorily to herself when she partly attempted to do so.”

Mrs. Baroda reconciles Gouvernail’s actual personality—as well as her response to it—with her incorrect, preconceived notions. In addition to Gouvernail’s arrival, Mrs. Baroda’s puzzlement may also be the “inciting incident,” in which she begins to react to the visitor.

“‘This is what I call living,’ he would utter with deep satisfaction, as the air that swept across the sugar field caressed him with its warm and scented velvety touch.”

These lines represent a distinctive shift in the narrative tone toward more sensuality. The figurative use of the vaguely erotic “caress” and “velvety” helps create that tone, but the sensory-rich description also contributes. Gouvernail’s response to nature is also key to his characterization, which is reminiscent of a Romantic poet and thinker.

“After a few days, when she could understand him no better than at first, she gave over being puzzled and remained piqued.”

This passage reflects the story’s growing internal tension. Mrs. Baroda is interested in the new and unfamiliar: a man she cannot understand. As her curiosity begins to trouble her, this marks how much the visitor affects her despite having done nothing to her.