Short Fiction · Chapter
Caline explained
Caline, a young Acadian girl living in rural Louisiana, is awakened by a stopped train.
What happens
Caline, a young Acadian girl living in rural Louisiana, is awakened by a stopped train. A passenger sketches her, and the encounter fills her with a longing for the wider world. She moves to the city to work for the flagman's sister, but eventually realizes it was not the city she sought, but the boy who drew her picture.
Themes in this chapter
Desire and Temptation
Caline is tempted by the allure of the city and the memory of the pleasant-faced boy, only to find her desires misaligned with reality.
Freedom and Confinement
Caline's initial confinement to rural life gives way to a new kind of confinement in the city, where she feels trapped by her unfulfilled longing.
Characters to notice
- Calixta
The protagonist, a young Acadian girl who is awakened by a train and later moves to the city.
Key passages
“She knew now that it was not the great city and its crowds of people she had so eagerly sought; but the pleasant-faced boy, who had made her picture that day under the mulberry tree.”
Caline realizes that her yearning was not for the city itself, but for the boy who sketched her.
This moment reveals the true object of Caline's desire and the source of her disillusionment.