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I’m 64 years old, male. I’ve been a DailyLit member since July 11, 2010.
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Classic Shorts: Eight Stories for Summer - "A Respectable Woman": A Respectable Ending?
I've taught this story to high school students; they seem to like it, mostly, but they are certain that by the end of the story, Mrs. Baroda has resolved to "be very nice to" her husband's friend by being receptive to an extramarital affair. I've always preferred to view her closing declaration as ambiguous: She could mean what the students think she means, or she might have been able to use the time away from Gouvernail to let her attraction to him simmer down. If this is the case, she would have done what a truly respectable woman would do--acknowledge the attraction but, over time, stifle it.
My students like certainty, and I like not knowing.
Any opinions?