Kate Chopin’s character, Mrs. Baroda, considers herself a respectable woman because when she is faced with a difficult decision, she makes what she considers the respectable decision. When her husband has a friend, Gouvernail, spend a few days at their home, Mrs. Baroda tells herself she does not like him. In reality, Mrs. Baroda likes Gouvernail too much, despite the fact that he is almost a polar opposite of her husband. When she is alone with him, Mrs. Baroda thinks about having an affair with him, but cuts off her thoughts, not wanting to lose her reputation as a respectable woman. In her mind, a respectable woman is one that does not have an affair and cheat on her husband. In her mind, she separates romantic feelings and her husband,