Bayou Folk

Bayou Folk (1894) 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. Bayou Folk collects twenty-three of her stories.

“Beyond the Bayou” is the story of La Folle, a thirty-five year old black woman living on the outskirts of a Louisiana plantation. Traumatized with memories of the war, she has spent her entire life on one side of the bayou. From her modest cabin, she entertains visits from the owner of Bellissime plantation and his young children. La Folle holds a special fondness for Chéri, the owner’s young son, whom she entertains with stories of a world she has seldom, if ever, seen, a world “beyond the bayou.” When a terrible accident occurs, however, she is forced to face her deepest fears, or else suffer the most unthinkable loss of all. In “Désirée''s Baby,” the most acclaimed of Chopin’s short stories, a young woman married to plantation owner Armand Aubigny awaits the birth of her first child. When the child is born with a racially ambiguous appearance, however, Aubigny quickly blames his wife, whose parents are suspected of having African American heritage. Banished from the plantation, Désirée leaves her young family behind, unaware of the secret her husband declined to share. Bayou Folk 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.

This edition of Kate Chopin’s Bayou Folk is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers.

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