At Fault
by Kate Chopin
Terez Lafirm, a beautiful and resourceful Creole woman, was widowed at the age of thirty-two and left alone to run her plantation in Louisiana. When Teresa falls in love with David Hosmer, a divorced businessman, her strong moral and religious beliefs make it impossible for her to accept the marriage proposal. Their determined rejection puts them on a turbulent path joined by Hosmer's ex-wife, Fanny. At Fault is filled with both romantic and rigid realism — a love story that, amid economic devastation and burning racial tensions, expands to address the complex problem of balancing personal happiness and social duty established in the south after reconstruction. Written early in his career, At Fault draws parallels with Chopin's own life and introduces the characters and themes that emerged in his later works, including The Awakening.
