Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette was considered and outstanding French author during the twentieth century. She is well-known for her skill in emphasizing the advanced feminine love and wisdom. Colette lived a life of an artist, for she published under husbands’ name in her first marriage. Yet, by her second marriage, she became a well-developed and known author, journalist, and novelist. The short story of “The Other Wife” is about a young married couple, who decide to have lunch by the ocean. However, this lunch has a silent character who invokes different personalities in both Marc and Alice. In “The Other Wife”, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette demonstrates the characters of Alice and Marc in the use of body language, character development, and dialog.
The body language in this particular short story is important for it hints about the marital dynamic among Marc and Alice. For instance, in the beginning of the story Alice would rather sit by the window of the…show more content… However, the use of dialog also expresses the tone; for instance, Alice expresses concern towards Marc for the sudden change in behavior. Yet, Marc avoids her question for the time being by counter acting her with a question, “I’ll tell you, darling. Let me order lunch first. Would you like the shrimp? Or the eggs in aspic?” (p.236). This dialog hints that something is making Marc uncomfortable but also captivating him at the same time. However, the dialog for Alice changes from external to internal toward the last of the story, as she views her husband’s features and she asks herself, “What more did she want from him?” (p.238). Although Alice is confirmed as the main character as the dialog changes from external to internal. The internal dialog suggest that Alice is not fully understanding that ex-wife is liberated from Marc for Alice should be asking the question, “What more did he
