A Night in Acadie (1897) is a short story collection by American
author Kate Chopin. Chopin, a pioneering feminist and gifted writer,
sought to portray the experiences of Southern women and ethnic
minorities struggling to survive in an era decimated by war and economic
hardship. A Night in Acadie collects twenty-one of her stories.
In "A Night in Acadie," a young farmer named Telèsphore decides to take
his meager earnings with him into town. Making his way to the train, he
laments his solitary life, musing on the women he has unsuccessfully
courted--the lovely Elvina, homely and hardworking Amaranthe, and the
seductive widow Ganache. That night, attending a dance near Marksville,
he makes the acquaintance of the beautiful Zaïda. Although she is
already engaged to be married, he makes a point of talking to her, happy
to escape his thoughts, if only for one night. "Athénaïse" is the story
of a young wife who longs to escape her husband. Fleeing to New Orleans,
determined to survive on her own, Athénaïse soon makes a discovery that
shakes her conviction and forces her to consider returning home. In
"Regret," Mamzelle Aurélie is an unmarried woman approaching middle age.
Having never been in love, she lives comfortably with her dog on a
modest farm. One day, her neighbor unexpectedly shows up at her doorstep
with her four young children, asking if she will look after them for the
day. A Night in Acadie showcases the literary talent of Kate Chopin, a
writer with an eye for characters on the fringe, people whose hearts
often clash with the rules and demands of culture in the American South.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript,
this edition of Kate Chopin's A Night in Acadie is a classic of
American literature reimagined for modern readers.
