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Explanation and Analysis:
“At the ‘Cadian Ball” is a naturalist short story. Naturalist writing often tells the stories of people whose fates are determined by forces outside of their control, whether their social class or nature itself. In “At the ‘Cadian Ball,” for example, a cyclone comes and destroys all of Alcée’s rice crops. This is a natural force outside of Alcée’s control that leads to a domino effect in the story: Alcée is devastated that he has lost all of his crops, which leads him to attend the ball to let off some steam, which leads Clarisse and Bobinôt to both attend the ball to stop him from flirting with Calixta, which ultimately leads to all characters ending up engaged by the end of the story. While the characters could try to convince themselves that they all chose love of their own accord, the whole process of cause-and-effect began with the cyclone.
This story is also a subtle example of feminist literature. This is because, rather than writing a typical love triangle story in which a dignified and morally pure young woman (Clarisse) ends up rewarded for her virtue by becoming engaged to an equally distinguished young man (Alcée), while the flirtatious and crass woman who tried to woo him (Calixta) ends up sad and alone, all characters end the story in romantically viable situations. Yes, Clarisse and Alcée end up together, but Calixta also ends with a man (Bobinôt) who loves her just as deeply as Alcée loves Clarisse. Despite the fact that Calixta does not follow the “rules” for young women, she is still accepted (and loved) by a worthy partner as much as other young women in her community.
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