At the 'Cadian Ball (Kate Chopin)
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Kate Chopin's slight short story, "At the 'Cadian Ball," is one of her early local color stories set in the Bayou of Louisiana in its use of place, dialects and characters. The story "is more local color than realism," and its conclusion "more like poetic justice than realism" (Arner 2). A sequel to the story, "The Storm," written four years later, fills in some of the gaps in "Cadian Ball." On its own, however, the earlier story contains the themes that inform Chopin's work: the needs and desires of women are not met by the traditional roles prescribed to them in the late 19th Century. The theme of escape from tradition and authority was dominant in the work of Chopin, "a woman who lived before her time, whose stories might be seen as a vindication of the rights of women, and an author whose literary works were controversial and unappreciated until many years later" (Gilbert 12)."At the 'Cadian Ball" reflects the cultural values of the late 19th Century Acadian, Creole and Cajun society which limited women's expression of their sexual needs. The reigning social conventions demanded that women conform to the traditional, constricting roles assigned to them by the male-dominated society. Freedom from these conventions proved hard to come by, and none of the characters in the story, male as well as female, achieve true personal freedom. The men, however, had rights denied to the women, and so the possibilities for freedom from convention existed for them. Chopin's s
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Assumption, but she is astute enough not to give in completely to his advances or invitation; she may desire a fling with Alcee, but is practical enough to know that is not a road she should take since that would be against the code of society. She is, however, swayed by her feelings and might give in. At that moment, Alcee is called out to the road by a servant, but he is having too good a time to leave: "I wouldn't go out to the road to see the Angel Gabriel" (Chopin 275). But then he hears another voice calling him, a voice "he would have followed ...anywhere" (Chopin 276). It is Clarisse who has come to claim him and save him, and he leaves Calixta without a glance backwards. Clarisse, however, perhaps feeling for another woman's hurt and humiliation, does speak kindly to Clarisse, and makes Alcee say goodbye. It is of no import to Calixta, however, since she realizes that Alcee is gone for her.
Alcee and Calixta "uncover their affection for each through a patch of wood. Clarisse's saddle became ungirted, and she and Alcee dismount, at which point she states her love for him, and he quickly forgets the passionate (disreputable) Calixta" ("The Topography of Desire"). Clarisse's motivations do not seem to be based sol
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1890
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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