Kate Chopin "At the 'Cadian Ball"

From the short story: "The belle was Calixta. . . . All the men agreed she was at her best to-night. Such animation! and abandon! such flashes of wit."

When Kate Chopin's "At the 'Cadian Ball" was written and published

The story was written between July 15 and 17, 1892, and published in Two Tales (Boston) on October 22, 1892. It was reprinted in Chopin's anthology of stories Bayou Folk in 1894.

Kate Chopin's "At the 'Cadian Ball" on line and in print

On line you can read the story here.

In print you can find "At the 'Cadian Ball" in The Complete Works of Kate Chopin, in the Penguin Classics edition of Chopin's Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie, and in the Library of American Literature Kate Chopin volume, as well as in other paperback and hardcover books. For publication information about these books, see the section "For students and scholars" near the bottom of this page.

"At the 'Cadian Ball" characters

• Bobinôt, an Acadian farmer; he appears also in Chopin's short story "The Storm"
• Calixta; she too appears in "The Storm"
• Alcée Laballière, a Creole planter; he appears in "The Storm" and "Croque-Mitaine" and is mentioned in "In and Out of Old Natchitoches"
• Clarisse, goddaughter of Alcée's mother
• Bruce, servant of Alcée
• an African American at the ball

"At the 'Cadian Ball" time and place

The story takes place in the late nineteenth-century at the Louisiana plantation of Alcée Laballière, a few hours (in the 1890s) by train from New Orleans, at the nearby Friedheimer's store, and at the 'Cadian ball.

Frequently asked questions about "At the 'Cadian Ball"

Q: Did this story become known because it is a prequel to "The Storm"?

A: It certainly became better known after readers discovered "The Storm," and from what we can tell, it was not much read before "The Storm" was published in the late 1960s. But it was, in fact, the first of Kate Chopin's short stories to be reprinted after her death. It appeared in 1921 as one of sixteen local color stories in Short Stories of America edited by Robert L. Ramsay and published in Boston by Houghton Mifflin.

Q: Why doesn't Clarisse go to the 'Cadian Ball? And why is she upset that Alcée does?

A: It's a partly matter of social class. Clarisse and Alcée are Creoles, descendants of French or Spanish settlers in Louisiana. Calixta and Bobinôt are Acadians, descendants of French-American exiles from Acadia, Nova Scotia, who were driven from their homes by the British in 1755. Most of the Creoles in Chopin's stories are comparatively wealthy, usually landowners or merchants. Most of the Acadians (or 'Cajuns) in the stories are much poorer, living off the land, farming or fishing or working for the Creoles. Clarisse takes her higher social status as a Creole seriously and thinks Alcée has no business at a 'Cadian ball. "Nice conduc' for a Laballière," she says. She understands, though, that it is common for a Creole man to appear at such get togethers, perhaps in search of a liaison with a 'Cadian woman. It would be unusual for a Creole woman to attend a 'Cadian ball.

Q: I've read an article about "The Storm" that suggests Calixta has some African-American blood. Is that right?

A: No. Her mother is Cuban. Everyone in the community thinks of her as Acadian with some Spanish blood.

You can read more questions and answers about Kate Chopin and her work, and you can email us your questions.

For students and scholars

Accurate texts of "At the 'Cadian Ball"

The Complete Works of Kate Chopin. Edited by Per Seyersted. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1969.

Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie. Edited by Bernard Koloski. New York: Penguin, 1999.

Kate Chopin: Complete Novels and Short Stories. Edited by Sandra Gilbert. New York: Library of American Literature, 2002.

Recent publications about "At the 'Cadian Ball"

Some of the articles listed here may be available on line through university or public libraries.

Seay, Geraldine H. "Kate Chopin's Source for 'At the Cadian Ball'." Southern Studies 8 (1997): 37-42.

Berkove, Lawrence I. "'Acting Like Fools': The Ill-Fated Romances of 'At the 'Cadian Ball' and 'The Storm'." Critical Essays on Kate Chopin. 184-196. New York: Hall, 1996.

Koloski, Bernard. "The Anthologized Chopin: Kate Chopin's Short Stories in Yesterday's and Today's Anthologies." Louisiana Literature 11 (1994): 18-30.

Sempreora, Margot. "Kate Chopin as Translator: A Paradoxical Liberation." Louisiana Literature 11 (1994): 83-96.

Selected books that discuss Chopin's short stories

Arima, Hiroko. Beyond and Alone!: The Theme of Isolation in Selected Short Fiction of Kate Chopin, Katherine Anne Porter, and Eudora Welty Lanham, MD: UP of America, 2006.

Beer, Janet. Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton and Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Studies in Short Fiction New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

Stein, Allen F. Women and Autonomy in Kate Chopin's Short Fiction New York: Peter Lang, 2005.

Walker, Nancy A. Kate Chopin: A Literary Life Basingstoke, England: Palgrave, 2001.

Koloski, Bernard. "Introduction" Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie by Kate Chopin New York: Penguin, 1999.

Toth, Emily. Unveiling Kate Chopin Jackson: UP of Mississippi, 1999.

Koloski, Bernard. Kate Chopin: A Study of the Short Fiction New York: Twayne, 1996.

Petry, Alice Hall (ed.), Critical Essays on Kate Chopin New York: G. K. Hall, 1996.

Elfenbein, Anna Shannon. Women on the Color Line: Evolving Stereotypes and the Writings of George Washington Cable, Grace King, Kate Chopin Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1994.

Boren, Lynda S. and Sara deSaussure Davis (eds.), Kate Chopin Reconsidered: Beyond the Bayou Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1992.

Perspectives on KateChopin: Proceedings from the Kate Chopin International Conference, April 6, 7, 8, 1989 Natchitoches, LA: Northwestern State UP, 1992.

Toth, Emily. "Introduction" A Vocation and a Voice New York: Penguin, 1991.

Papke, Mary E. Verging on the Abyss: The Social Fiction of Kate Chopin and Edith Wharton New York: Greenwood, 1990.

Toth, Emily. Kate Chopin. New York: Morrow, 1990.

Elfenbein , Anna Shannon. Women on the Color Line: Evolving Stereotypes and the Writings of George Washington Cable, Grace King, Kate Chopin Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1989.

Taylor, Helen. Gender, Race, and Region in the Writings of Grace King, Ruth McEnery Stuart, and Kate Chopin Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1989.

Bonner, Thomas Jr., The Kate Chopin Companion New York: Greenwood, 1988.

Bloom, Harold (ed.), Kate Chopin New York: Chelsea, 1987.

Ewell, Barbara C. Kate Chopin New York: Ungar, 1986.

Skaggs, Peggy. Kate Chopin Boston: Twayne, 1985.

Seyersted, Per. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1969.

Rankin, Daniel, Kate Chopin and Her Creole Stories Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1932.