Racism - How Could This Happen?

“Is there any feeling in a woman stronger than curiosity?” asks Guy de Maupassant as he goes deeper into the nature of woman. He particularly uses one woman who chooses to temporarily leave her normal life in the provinces as a mother to explore a more corrupt life in Paris. Before telling the woman’s story, the narrator speaks about the characteristics of women in general, which shows a connection between the woman in this story and the typical woman. The narrator bases this connection on curiosity, which is repeatedly addressed throughout the story. According to the information given by the narrator, the woman goes on a quest which is fueled by curiosity and a strong desire for self-knowledge.

The narrator starts off by emphasizing his strong opinion of the affect that curiosity has on the typical woman. He states that “Once a woman’s eager curiosity is aroused, she will be guilty of any folly, commit any imprudence, venture upon any thing, and recoil from nothing” (1040). The story that the narrator tells about this particular woman completely supports his view on the quest that woman is tempted to explore because of her curiosity. The narrator splits this characteristic into three compartments: female uneasiness, sly dodges, and delightful deceit.

The woman is the protagonist in this quest who becomes impatient with her regular life and decides to secretly attempt to live a corrupt, yet exciting, life. She completely disregards the needs of her husband and children. Because she lacks this at home, she is in search of a life full of magic and sexual excitement. The fact that she is so curious about the outside world emphasizes her innocence and the young, immature mentality that she has. It also shows her lack of inexperience: “She used to ask to herself if she was meant to die without having experienced any of those damning, intoxicating joys, without having plunged once, just once, into that flood of Parisian voluptuousness”(1041).

The stated reason to go on this particular quest is clearly expressed throughout this story: that the woman can no longer continue her normal, routine life as a mother/wife. “She felt that she was growing old without having known life, except in those recurring, repellently monotonous, everyday occupations which constitute the happiness of the home”(1041). This shows the anxiety in her that has become impossible to ignore.

The protagonist goes through many challenges and trials throughout her quest. She has trouble trying to fulfill the countless fantasies of “magnificent and corrupt luxury” (1041). However, the narrator exploits the major trial in the quest on page 1044: “But she was as simple as it was possible for a provincial lawyer’s wife to be, and he was more exacting than a pasha