Calixta As the Ideal Woman of the 1800s in At The Cadian Ball by Kate

Calixta As the Ideal Woman of the 1800's in At The Cadian Ball by Kate Chopin â€Å"Calixta would be there†¦ That little Spanish vixen.† No matter what the age, there are certain types of women who seem to capture the attention of every man in the room. In the story At the ‘Cadian Ball by Kate Chopin, the protagonist Calixta is precisely that kind of a girl. She is an atypical female of her time. The ideal woman of the late 1800’s was demure, prim and restrained. She was the paragon of prudery, modesty personified. Then there was Calixta. Calixta was everything that the idealized ‘Madonna’ of her time was not. She was boldly flirtatious, impulsive, sensuous and altogether outrageous. For all these anomalous characteristics, she is admired in a fashion. Especially since society of the time is rather homogenous and has strict guidelines for behavior. The heavy racial preconceptions of the times are also evident in this story. The only reason Calixta’s scandalous behavior is tolerated by the community is in her ethnicity. Even so, the men do not seem to mind her behavior much. The women on the other hand did not always approve. â€Å"Bon chien tient de race† She was dismissed often leniently since her mother was Spanish. It did not matter that Calixta had never been to Cuba. The fact that Spanish blood flowed through her veins was enough for the people to automatically assume she was indecent. Perhaps Calixta was influenced by these preconceived expectations. Yet despite her shocking behavior, her indecency was innocent, and deliberate at the same time. Her taunts towards Bobinot, â€Å"Mais, w’at’s the matta? Standin’ plante la like ole ma’ame Tina’s cow in the bog you!† was deliberately provocative, however it came naturally to her. Since ... ...ixta is no exception. Alcee is intriguing for her; therefore, she pursues him, with harmless trifling and suggestions. She does not feel quite right unless there is someone admiring her, since Alcee is obviously not going to do that, she decides Bobinot is better than nothing is. Calixta’s conduct directly reflects her purposes. Despite the fact that she is distinctive in personality and manner she ends up marrying Bobinot. In essence, she does what all the women do, albeit in a different manner. She does take initiative in proposing marriage. However, the point is that she gets married. In the end, regardless of her outrageously coquettish behavior, she is like all other women and want what they have; the stability and love. Thus, she marries Bobinot whom she knows loves her. Unconventional conduct notwithstanding she conforms in a fashion and obeys the rules.