When The Figs Were Like Little Green Marbles

In Kate Chopin’s short story “Ripe Figs”, she illustrates the way time goes buy through the ripening of the figs. In the story, Babette is allowed to go to “Bayou-Lafourche,” “when the figs were ripe.” Throughout the story Chopin shows the cycle of time. Chopin use of imagery, age, and setting, illustrates the cycle of time, in order to show the maturing of Babette.
In the story imagery is used to help show the change in maturity for Babette. At the beginning Babette is shown to be young by, “the figs were like little, green marbles,” Chopin uses this imagery as a way to put in the reader’s mind that the figs are still maturing, to illustrate the fact that Babette still has to mature, in order to go visit her cousins. As time goes on and Babette is growing up, the image of, “a dozen purple figs, fringed around with their rich, green leaves,” lets the reader know that time has come and Babette can finally go to her cousins, because the figs were ripe even though the ripening of the figs didn’t have anything to do with it. The change in the figs elaborates the cycle of time from Babette being a young little girl to being a mature young lady, as the way the figs went from, “green marbles,” to “purple figs.” The use of this imagery is showing comparison between Babette and the figs.
Age

“The first thing they both knew it was summertime,” is used to show that it the beginning of summer around July, and the figs are just now starting the process of ripening. As for Babette she goes and dances under the fig trees just waiting for the time to come that the figs are ripe and she can go visit her cousins. When the figs are ripe its mid-summertime which is around August. “I shall look for her at Toussaint- when the chrysanthemums are in bloom,” said Maman-nainaine. Which says another season is about to come and another plant is going to be growing here soon. This shows the cycle of time through the