At The Cadian Ball

Dialect Analysis of “At the ‘Cadian Ball” by Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin was born in St. Louis, Missouri on February 8, 1850. She grew up in a bi-cultural home, with her father and mother being of Irish and French descent respectively. As a child she became bilingual in French and English, and she had a strong appreciation for French culture and literature. During her childhood and into adulthood, Chopin had many strong women role models, including her mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and her teachers. Her exposure to French culture and empowered women influenced the characters she created in her stories later on in life.
At the age of 20 she married Louisiana native Oscar Chopin. After their honeymoon, Oscar and Kate moved to New Orleans. The couple lived in New Orleans during Reconstruction; at that time New Orleans experienced racial and financial tensions. She lived in Louisiana for approximately 12 years and moved back to St. Louis after her husband died in 1882. Her writing career did not begin until 1890

When Clarisse shows up at the Acadian ball, she says: “It means something has happen’ at home. You mus’ come” (Chopin 6). His response is, “W’at does this mean Clarisse?” and “Happened to maman?” (Chopin 6). Although Alcee says “w’at” the same way Calixta does on page 5, he still does not speak a dialect to the same degree as Clarisse. Clarisse uses consonant cluster reduction multiple times throughout the story, and she also uses again while talking to Alcee when she says, “I saw you go away las’ night, Alcee, with those saddle-bags.” Alcee, on the other hand, has no evidence of using French Creole in the story. Because of the lack of dialect, Alcee’s language works to create not only a power dynamic between Creoles and Cajuns, but also between males and females. However, Alcee is not the only character in the upper class who’s dialect affects “At the ‘Cadian