A Horse Story Flashcards
by Kate Chopin — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: A Horse Story
Why does Herminia ride Ti Démon into the pine forest?
She is bringing eggs and garden vegetables to sell at Monsieur Labatier's summer home in the hills.
Why does Ti Démon stop on the hill?
He has a painful lump in his left forefoot and cannot put weight on it.
What does Herminia fantasize about regarding the Labatier visit?
She hopes young Mr. Prospere Labatier will offer to lend her his horse or escort her home in his buggy.
How does Ti Démon free himself from the tree?
He deliberately unknots the rope with his old yellow teeth — one of his "chief accomplishments."
What alarms Solistan when he finds Ti Démon?
The horse is covered in clay and sticks, with the saddle hanging underneath him and the blanket gone — suggesting Herminia was thrown.
How does Herminia's visit to the Labatier plantation actually go?
She is barely noticed — wedged between two stout people at dinner, ignored by servants, and Mr. Prospere only says "Hello!" in passing.
How does Solistan propose to Herminia?
While fiddling with Ti Démon's bridle, he asks "w'at you think 'bout takin' me long with the ho'se?" — bundling himself with the mare he's offering.
What is Ti Démon's real name and who gave it to him?
Spitfire — given by his first owner, Blanco Bill, in the Indian Nation. It is the only name he officially acknowledges.
What language does Ti Démon think in?
His "native language" from his youth in the Indian Nation — even though he understands Herminia's English and her mother's Cajun French.
How is Herminia physically described?
She wears a vivid red calico dress and white sunbonnet, with two quick black eyes "like a squirrel's" and a little springy step.
What reveals the depth of Solistan's feelings for Herminia?
When he fears she's been hurt, he realizes for the first time "the depth and nature of his attachment" — something he only understood when she was in danger.
How does Mr. Prospere treat Herminia at the plantation?
He merely says "Hello! Herminia!" while hurrying along the gallery — he doesn't even slow down.
How does Ti Démon's fear of obsolescence drive the plot?
Solistan's remark about shooting him haunts Ti Démon so deeply that he eventually runs away rather than wait to be killed.
How does the story contrast romantic fantasy with genuine affection?
Herminia's fantasy about glamorous Mr. Prospere yields nothing, while Solistan's unpolished concern — riding out in dirty work clothes — proves to be real love.
What does Herminia's defense of Ti Démon reveal about loyalty?
She compares shooting the horse to shooting a stranger on the road, showing she values loyalty to an aging companion over practical convenience.
What is the effect of giving Ti Démon an interior monologue?
It creates dramatic irony — the reader knows the horse's thoughts and fears while the humans remain oblivious to the harm their words cause.
How does Solistan's remark "Shoot Ti Démon; his time's over" function as foreshadowing?
Though retracted as a joke, it plants the fear that drives Ti Démon's eventual flight and death.
How does Chopin shift tone between comedy and pathos?
Ti Démon's grumpy complaints about corn and mules are funny, but his lonely death on the Bonham road is genuinely sad — the humor makes the pathos sharper.
How do Herminia's and Ti Démon's plotlines parallel each other?
Both are humiliated on the pine hill trip: Herminia is ignored at the Labatier house, and Ti Démon is abandoned tied to a tree. Both find resolution — Herminia with Solistan, Ti Démon through escape.
What is "cotonade" in the story?
A coarse cotton fabric common in rural Louisiana — mentioned as part of the regional wardrobe that marks characters as Cajun.
What does "couche-couche" refer to at the end of the story?
A traditional Cajun cornmeal dish that Herminia is stirring when Solistan tells her about Ti Démon's death.
What is a "basse-cour" as mentioned in other Chopin stories?
A farmyard or poultry yard — part of the rural Louisiana domestic landscape that Chopin frequently depicts.
What does Ti Démon mean when he says "If there's goin' to be any shootin', it's time fo' me to be pullin' my freight"?
He is using frontier slang (from Blanco Bill) to say he'd better leave before someone carries out the threat to kill him.
What is poignant about Herminia calling Ti Démon "a good an' faithful ho'se"?
She genuinely mourns him and remembers his loyalty, even though his fear-driven escape was triggered by a careless remark from her own husband.
What does Solistan mean by "maybe it is all fo' the best"?
He means the horse's death was probably a mercy given his age and condition — but the phrase also carries unintended irony, since Solistan's own remark caused Ti Démon to flee.