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Clarisse is a beautiful, young Creole woman—“dainty as a lily; hardy as a sunflower; slim, tall, graceful, like one of the reeds that grew in the marsh.” She is the goddaughter of Madame Laballière and the love interest of Alcée. Clarisse serves as a foil to Calixta: while the latter is an unrestrained “little Spanish vixen,” Clarisse is a tall and refined lady. Clarisse initially rejects Alcée’s advances not from lack of romantic feeling, but from a sense of propriety. Alcée’s “hot, blistering love-words” are simply too much for a lady to bear. Clarisse has a strong sense of decorum that readers can see through her disapproval for Alcée’s going to the ball: “The ’Cadian ball […] Humph! Par exemple! Nice conduc’ for a Laballière.” Clarisse considers those attending the ball to be of a lower social station. Alcée’s presence at the ball drives Clarisse to accept his advances at the end of the story, out of fear that he might redirect his interest to Calixta.
Clarisse Quotes in At the ’Cadian Ball
The At the ’Cadian Ball quotes below are all either spoken by Clarisse or refer to Clarisse. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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At the ’Cadian Ball
Quotes
But he must have been crazy the day he came in from the rice-field, and, toil-stained as he was, clasped Clarisse by the arms and panted a volley of hot, blistering love-words into her face. No man had ever spoken love to her like that.
“Monsieur!” she exclaimed, looking him full in the eyes, without a quiver. Alcée’s hands dropped and his glance wavered before the chill of her calm, clear eyes.
“Par exemple!” she muttered disdainfully, as she turned from him, deftly adjusting the careful toilet that he had so brutally disarranged.
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It was an awful thing, coming so swiftly, without a moment’s warning in which to light a holy candle or set a piece of blessed palm burning.
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“Gre’t Peter! Miss Clarisse. I was n’ sho it was a ghos’ o’ w’at, stan’in’ up dah, plumb in de night, dataway.”
“The ’Cadian ball,” she repeated contemptuously. “Humph! Par exemple! Nice conduc’ for a Laballière. An’ he needs a saddle-bag, fill’ with clothes, to go to the ’Cadian ball!”
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Was it last week the cyclone had well- nigh ruined him? The cyclone seemed a huge joke, now. It was he, then, who, an hour ago was kissing little Calixta’s ear and whispering nonsense into it. Calixta was like a myth, now. The one, only, great reality in the world was Clarisse standing before him, telling him that she loved him.
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Clarisse Quotes in At the ’Cadian Ball
The At the ’Cadian Ball quotes below are all either spoken by Clarisse or refer to Clarisse. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
At the ’Cadian Ball
Quotes
But he must have been crazy the day he came in from the rice-field, and, toil-stained as he was, clasped Clarisse by the arms and panted a volley of hot, blistering love-words into her face. No man had ever spoken love to her like that.
“Monsieur!” she exclaimed, looking him full in the eyes, without a quiver. Alcée’s hands dropped and his glance wavered before the chill of her calm, clear eyes.
“Par exemple!” she muttered disdainfully, as she turned from him, deftly adjusting the careful toilet that he had so brutally disarranged.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
It was an awful thing, coming so swiftly, without a moment’s warning in which to light a holy candle or set a piece of blessed palm burning.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Gre’t Peter! Miss Clarisse. I was n’ sho it was a ghos’ o’ w’at, stan’in’ up dah, plumb in de night, dataway.”
“The ’Cadian ball,” she repeated contemptuously. “Humph! Par exemple! Nice conduc’ for a Laballière. An’ he needs a saddle-bag, fill’ with clothes, to go to the ’Cadian ball!”
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Was it last week the cyclone had well- nigh ruined him? The cyclone seemed a huge joke, now. It was he, then, who, an hour ago was kissing little Calixta’s ear and whispering nonsense into it. Calixta was like a myth, now. The one, only, great reality in the world was Clarisse standing before him, telling him that she loved him.
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