A Night in Acadie

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.