30 pages • 1 hour read
Kate ChopinAt the ’Cadian Ball
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1892A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Decorum’s Constriction on Human Passion
All four main characters struggle against their desires, which are described as uncontrollable forces, much like the cyclone that hits Alcée’s rice fields. The characters strain against societal expectations for decorum as they follow their hearts. Considering the historical expectations for marriage at this time, such a concept of letting unchecked passion motivate and guide the actions of the characters was unprecedented. Parents and family members were traditionally involved in introducing potential matches to their sons and daughters, and marriage for financial advantage was common practice. The idea that a person could follow their heart and let natural desire control their actions was a radical one.
“Wild horses could not have kept him away,” the narrator comments of Bobinôt when he realizes Alcée will be at the same ball as Calixta (180). Bobinôt’s infatuation with Calixta goes beyond attraction. He physically weakens when thinking of her eyes and is rendered speechless when Calixta proposes marriage. Bobinôt is aware of the gossip surrounding Calixta’s affair. Societal expectations should have led Bobinôt to choose a more refined, chaste bride; several young ladies would marry Bobinôt immediately, a fact of which Bobinôt is aware. However, his obsession with Calixta is out of his control, dictating his course of action throughout the story.
Similarly, the natural pull Alcée feels toward Clarisse causes him to act “crazy,” doing and saying things considered ungentlemanly. When Clarisse shows up at the ball, hearing her voice sends an “electric shock” through his body, “bringing him to his feet” (186). Alcée forgets the simplest of manners, and he would have left Calixta without saying goodbye had Clarisse not reminded him to acknowledge her—this mere minutes after he propositioned Calixta for sex. Clarisse, who adheres to the rules of decorum and societal expectations more than any of the other characters, also loses control of her actions when confronted with the possibility of losing Alcée. She says, “I got wild. An’ then I knew if you did n’t come back, now, tonight, I could n’t stan’ it,—again” (188), revealing her own uncontrollable passions.
Calixta loses her composure when Alcée begins to brush his lips against her. And she slaps another young woman in an argument about a lover (likely Alcée) in broad daylight at church. However, Calixta makes a calculated choice to marry Bobinôt after seeing Alcée leave the party with Clarisse. This decision has nothing to do with love or even lust. She knows that marrying Alcée would mean marrying into a higher social class, and so when that no longer is an option, she chooses someone safe, steady, and interested in her. Calixta is the outlier at the end of the story, as she ends up choosing a marriage partner with her head and not her heart.
Regional Differences and Eccentricities
As a local colorist, Chopin provided an almost anthropological view of the people and customs in Louisiana. “At the ’Cadian Ball” examines the Acadiana region of the state, a melting pot for different ethnicities and social classes. The story portrays an idiosyncratic town with a diverse population and unique customs. By using local color as a stylistic choice in her writing, Chopin goes beyond crafting an entertaining fictional love story and leaves behind an account of the people who occupied this region, how they sounded when they spoke, their customs, jobs, meals, and forms of entertainment.
“At the ’Cadian Ball” reads like an account of the people who inhabit Acadiana, their farming practices, a cyclone that impacts the region, visitors from “the city,” the servants (former slaves), and the treatment of these people. The ball itself provides a glimpse of the unique customs and traditions of this region. The narrator notes that the partygoers are expected to act like ’Cadians, not ladies or gentlemen. Had she focused more on the sexual interactions between her characters rather than “local color,” as she does in the sequel to “At the ’Cadian Ball,” she would have faced criticism and literary ruin, as she discovered after publishing “The Storm.”
Calixta’s passionless marriage agreement with Bobinôt is strategically contrasted with her more passionate interactions with Alcée. Calixta and Alcée have chemistry between them, as well as a history of romantic interactions. Alcée turns to Calixta after he loses his crops, even though Clarisse “offered her soft, purring words of condolence” (181). Calixta and Alcée may be a perfect match, but because they are from different social classes, Alcée never allows himself to see Calixta as anything more than a fling. Calixta’s indifference toward Bobinôt leaves a stale, cold ending to their story. Their arrangement criticizes the crushing effect social hierarchies can have on potential love matches. Chopin is able to veil this criticism, though she asserts it nonetheless, by establishing “At the ’Cadian Ball” as regional fiction.
Feminism and Marriage
Both of the main female characters show limited control over their choice of marriage partners. To a modern reader, this may seem restrictive. However, American women in the 1890s often had no say at all over whom they would marry, especially in rural communities. Clarisse and Calixta, through their words and actions, represent ideas of feminism that were sprouting in 1890s America.
Clarisse is brought to live with Madame Laballière to assist her, although it is noted that Clarisse and Madame Laballière “built more air-castles than enough” (180), implying that Clarisse’s purpose at the Laballière farm is not to work. It is very likely that Madame Laballière is facilitating a courtship between her goddaughter and her son, as would have been customary for this time. And yet, Clarisse prefers to keep company with visitors from the city, particularly men.
She pushes Alcée away when he initially offers her, rather roughly, his declaration of love. Alcée is a good match for Clarisse. He is from a wealthy upper-class family, and he runs his own estate. The fact that Clarisse initially says no to Alcée, and he respects her boundaries, illustrates the power that Clarisse holds at the Laballière home. Moreover, when Clarisse has a change of heart and feels that she is about to lose Alcée to another woman, she does not sit by and wait for him to return. She acts. Clarisse rides off in the middle of the night, alone, an incredibly bold and daring choice for an upper-class lady, and she declares her love for Alcée. For all of his boldness and forwardness, Alcée never truly wins Clarisse over. It is Clarisse’s decision to marry Alcée.
Calixta does not have as many options as Clarisse because of her lower social standing. She still takes charge of her life, however, refusing to settle. At first, Calixta rejects Bobinôt’s many marriage proposals, even though he appears to be a good match. He is described as “good-natured,” and there are several other ladies who would marry Bobinôt immediately. However, if Calixta were to marry Alcée, she would advance in social status, marry into a family with more wealth, and her marriage bed would undoubtedly be more passionate and sensual than it would be with Bobinôt, who is described as “dull-looking and clumsy” (184).
When Alcée tries to convince Calixta that she said something she did not, Calixta does not merely go along with Alcée’s recollection, but rather tells him, “No, I neva said that, me. You mus’ dreamt that” (185). Even though he is the man whom Calixta is trying to win over, she holds to her reality. Chopin could have written another marriage proposal from Bobinôt to Calixta, but she instead has Calixta lead the marriage negotiation. Even though marriage with Bobinôt is not Calixta’s first choice, it ultimately remains her choice.
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By Kate Chopin
