In this vignette by French author Colette, a recently married couple visiting a restaurant chance upon the husband’s ex-wife. She is attractive, sophisticated and self-assured. Alice, the new wife, is younger, naïve, submissive and insecure. The self-centered, controlling husband cannot understand why his first wife had “difficulty” with their relationship. The new marriage, in which Alice flirtatiously plays the part of a trophy wife, appears more to his liking. Unfortunately for him, the encounter raises doubts and a question in Alice’s mind: What more did she (the ex-wife) want from him? She finds herself envying and respecting the stronger woman.
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