How to Be a Good Wife (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Robert dies during a dinner where the students serve a rabbit dish. He chokes on a bone and dies suddenly. His death is accidental but it exposes the school's precarious financial situation, as Paulette and Gilberte later discover that Robert had been borrowing beyond the school's means, leaving the institution on the brink of bankruptcy.

Foreshadowing: The film notes early on that a red-haired applicant arrives for the year, which some consider a bad omen, hinting at the tragedy to come.

• robert death
• rabbit bone
• choking scene
• van der beck

While sorting through Robert's belongings after his death, Paulette and Gilberte discover letters revealing that Robert had borrowed heavily beyond the school's financial capacity. The school was already on the brink of bankruptcy before Robert died, and his death leaves Paulette to deal with both the emotional loss and the serious financial crisis.

• bankruptcy
• finances
• robert mismanagement
• school debt

Paulette and Grunvald were lovers before World War II. Grunvald reveals that his wartime letters to her never reached her, explaining why their relationship ended. When he becomes the bank manager handling the school's loan, he uses this past connection to reconnect with Paulette, offering to help secure the school's future in exchange for renewing their relationship.

• paulette grunvald
• past romance
• wartime love
• andré grunvald

A student learns she is being forced to marry a man nearly her father's age, a decision reflecting the traditional values the school promotes. Overwhelmed by the prospect of a life without agency, she attempts to hang herself in the dormitory. Other students discover her and intervene just in time, saving her life. This event deeply affects Paulette and directly motivates her to question the school's mission.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early on that the school teaches young women to become devoted wives, setting up the conflict between traditional roles and personal autonomy.

• student suicide
• forced marriage
• albane
• women's autonomy

When the group hears radio reports of student riots shutting down Paris, Paulette faces a choice: turn back or continue. After the emotional toll of Robert's death, the discovery of the school's finances, and the student's suicide attempt, Paulette chooses to disembark and walk toward the city with the young women. Instead of showcasing traditional housekeeping skills, they join the women's liberation movement marching through Paris, embracing a new path beyond the school's restrictive ideals.

Foreshadowing: Paulette's backstory reveals her mother's heartbreak over her father's fate in the camps, suggesting Paulette understands oppression firsthand and is ready to reject subservient roles.

• paris riots
• may 1968
• women's liberation
• protest march

Grunvald climbs the piping to reach Paulette's bedroom late at night, demanding to be with her. He agrees to help her secure the loan and support the school, but only if she takes him back into her life. Paulette agrees on the condition that he help with cooking and share his apple strudel recipe, symbolizing a shift in traditional power dynamics where the man must participate in domestic life.

• grunvald bedroom
• romantic scene
• apple strudel

After the suicide scare, Paulette falls into deep gloom and considers cancelling the Paris trip to the housekeeping fair. However, she ultimately decides to go, believing the trip might offer the students an escape from the restrictive school environment. Ironically, rather than showcasing traditional domestic skills, the journey becomes a pathway to liberation when they encounter the May 1968 protests.

• paris trip
• housekeeping fair
• student excursion

The transformation happens gradually through accumulated pressures: Robert's death leaves Paulette in charge; the financial crisis forces her to confront difficult decisions; her rekindled romance with Grunvald challenges her personal independence; and most importantly, the student's suicide attempt exposes the harmful consequences of teaching women to accept subservient roles. When the Paris trip intersects with the 1968 riots, Paulette embraces the moment and encourages the students to join the women's liberation movement.

Foreshadowing: Paulette's mother suffered heartbreak over her father's fate in the camps, suggesting Paulette has always carried awareness of how oppressive systems harm women.

• transformation
• women's liberation
• empowerment
• school values