Short Fiction · Chapter
V explained
Offdean becomes deeply involved in the plantation's affairs, spending time with Pierre and Euphrasie.
What happens
Offdean becomes deeply involved in the plantation's affairs, spending time with Pierre and Euphrasie. Their daily rides into the woods, ostensibly for business, become occasions for intimate conversation and growing affection. A rainstorm forces them to share a close moment on the gallery, and Offdean finds the desolate scene charming. When business calls him back to New Orleans, he maintains correspondence with Euphrasie, but his interest in the plantation wanes upon learning she will visit the city for Mardi Gras.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and the Landscape
The desolate, rain-soaked landscape is described in detail, and Offdean finds charm in the decaying plantation and its surroundings.
Desire and Temptation
Offdean and Euphrasie's growing intimacy during their woodland rides and the rainstorm scene hints at romantic attraction.
Characters to notice
- Wallace Offdean
Grows comfortable with Pierre and Euphrasie, enjoys their woodland excursions, and finds the rainy plantation scene delightful. His interest shifts from business to Euphrasie.
- Euphrasie
Accompanies Offdean on rides to mark timber, shares confidences, and writes to him after his departure. She announces her upcoming trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
- Placide
Referenced in La Chatte's story as a mischievous and threatening boy who once held a gun to her head to demand croquignoles.
Key passages
“La Chatte, a broad black woman with ends of white wool sticking out from under her tignon, stood with arms akimbo watching them as they disappeared one day. Then she turned and said to a young woman who sat in the cabin door:— 'Dat young man, ef he want to listen to me, he gwine quit dat ar caperin' roun' Miss 'Phrasie.'”
La Chatte, a large black woman with white hair peeking from under her headwrap, watched Offdean and Euphrasie ride away and warned a younger woman that Offdean should stop his flirtatious behavior with Euphrasie.
La Chatte expresses concern about Offdean's attentions toward Euphrasie, hinting at potential trouble with Placide.
“But the darkies were mistaken in supposing that Offdean was paying attention to Euphrasie. Those little jaunts in the wood were purely of a business character.”
The black laborers were wrong to think Offdean was courting Euphrasie; their rides into the woods were strictly for business.
The narrator ironically undercuts the assumption, though the subsequent description suggests otherwise.
“Offdean suddenly lost interest in the progress of work on the plantation. Singularly enough, it happened simultaneously with the arrival of a letter from Euphrasie which announced in a modest postscript that she was going down to the city with the Duplans for Mardi Gras.”
Offdean's concern for the plantation's improvements vanished just when he received Euphrasie's letter mentioning her upcoming trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
Offdean's shift in focus from business to personal interest in Euphrasie is made explicit.