At the ’Cadian Ball

The cyclone symbolizes nature’s influence and control and, in turn, a person’s inability to control the natural elements, including human nature. Alcée tries to show mastery over his farm and his financial outcome by planting 900 acres of rice, which are soon destroyed by the cyclone. This enacts a series of cause-and-effect scenarios that make up the rest of the short story. To ease his anguish from the cyclone’s damage to his crops, Alcée heads to the ball for a bit of fun. Knowing that Alcée will be there, Bobinôt also attends the ball to intercept Alcée should he make any advances on Calixta. Clarisse follows Alcée to the ball as well, intending to declare her love for him before he involves himself with any other women. Calixta aside, the main characters would have missed the ball entirely had it not been for the cyclone.

A similar lack of control is evident in the scenes depicting lust and physical intimacy; these scenes often also contain elements from the natural world. When Bobinôt hears Alcée will be attending the same ball as Calixta, the narrator says that “wild horses could not have kept him away” (180). Later, the narrator notes that Alcée “must have been crazy” (181) when he, “toil-stained as he was, clasped Clarisse in his arms and panted a volley of hot, blistering love-words into her face” (181). The way Alcée delivers his romantic proposition to Clarisse is likened to giving her a sunburn. He is described as crazy, indicating that he loses control of his mind when he grabs her. The narrator says, “Calixta’s senses were reeling, and they well-nigh left her when she felt Alcée’s lips brush her ear like the touch of a rose” (186). Calixta loses control of her senses and is sent reeling, much like the arms of a cyclone, when Alcée kisses her.