It seems like Boudu clearly rapes Mrs. Lestingois. She was smacking his hands away, and when he grabs her she says several times, "You're frightening me." She is shown right after with a big smile on her face. Does it disturb anyone else that it seems like Renoir is presenting a rape as comic, and so seems to be condoning it? Or am I misunderstanding something?
shareWhen they are off camera, she says "Oh yes" and "Oh no" several times, it's pretty clear that she is tempted while her social rank tells her to not do it. She is neglected by her husband, bored by life, and see in him an opportuniy for a bit of wild adventure.
Clearly not meant to be seen as a rape. It's just old-school and, yes, sexist but innocent and light-hearted vaudeville humor from that time period. Not very compatible with today viewing for sure, but you'd be wrong to look for any malignant meaning in it.
That said, I'd hate to see this scene in a recent movie and, even if not shown as a rape, I would be disgusted by the way it would show women as easy sexual objects (as the two main women in Boudu are).