Asserting Your Independence by Testing The Boundaries of Sexuality in "The Storm"

Her sexuality has been repressed by the constraints of her marriage and society's view of women, represented by the housework being done before the storm hits. Chopin alludes to this theme of suppression again as Alcee is invited into Calixta's home. The author writes, 'Come 'long in, M'sieur Alcee. His voice and her own startled her as if from a trance, and she seized Bobinot's vest. Alcee, mounting to the porch, grabbed the trousers and snatched Bibi's braided jacket that was about to be carried away by a sudden gust of wind.'; Alcee grabs Bobinot's pants, symbolically subverting the social and martial constraints that control Calixta.

The theme of this story seems to be that when Calixta and Alcee had sex and cheated on their marriages, it made their marriages happier, "so the storm passed and everyone was happy"(Chopin 150). Alcee wrote to his wife the night he cheated on her, "it was a loving letter, full of tender solicitude"(150). And after having an affair, the character Alcee seems to care more about his wife and baby, "realizing that their health and pleasure were the first things to be considered"(Chopin 150). He seems to care more about his wife and baby after he cheats on his wife because of the word "realizing." It gives the meaning that he just figured out that their health and pleasure were the first things to be considered. Calixta and Bobinot, as well as Bibi are shown to be very happy and full of laughter after she cheats on Bobinot," when the three seated themselves at table they laughed much and so loud that anyone might have heard them as far away as Laballiere's"(Chopin 149).

The second negative aspect of marriage, according to Kate Chopin's stories, is the repression of women through marriage. In The Storm, Calixta's traditional housewife role was defined by how was too busy with sewing and her housework to even notice that there was a storm coming. The other female character, Clarisse, too felt repression through her marriage. When her husband Alcee notified her that she could stay longer in his absence, she felt relief, ."..the first free breath since her marriage seemed

After Calixta meets with Alcee she no longer show signs of frustration or exhaustion; she is now worried about Bobinot and Bibi out in the storm. As Alcee is walking to the porch he “snatched Bibi’s braided jacket that was about to be carried away by a sudden gust of wind” (Chopin 532). This evidence demonstrates Alcee will to obtain anything he

The author employed the use of symbolism in the description of the storm. Storm, a natural phenomenon that brings about extreme weather condition that might lead to an undesirable outcome. "The Storm" in the context of the selection brought about a positive outcome. “The storm” in the story is not the physical storm that occurred outside with heavy downpour, but the coming together of Alcee and Bobinot. A physical storm forms when the atmosphere is saturated with water and droplets of water pour out from the sky. The symbolic importance of the storm represents the liberation of Alcee and Calixta, from the shackles of societal or moral expectation. "He pushed her hair back from her face that was warm and streaming her" (425). Although Alcee pushed Calixta’s hair back to see her face, the author’s interpretation was not physical. Chopin meant that Alcee was able to set Calixta free from the bondage of marriage temporarily.

With the passing of the storm and the departure of Alcee, Calixta does not revert to her subordinate housewife bonds. Instead, she uses her awakening to discover newfound happiness in her marriage and duties as a wife and mother. When Bobinot and Bibi return, the reader sees a different Calixta than the downtrodden, worried, and selfless Calixta from the beginning of the story. In fact, it is the father and son who must begin ?to relax and enjoy themselves,? not Calixta, who is already joyously preparing dinner (861). At the dinner table, ?they laughed much and so loud that anyone might have heard them? (861). The only other time

'The Storm' begins on a stormy spring day, with the protagonist Calixta at her sewing machine. She is alone, her husband Bobinot and son Bibi have gone to the store. Calixta seems to be a bored woman, confined to her duties as a housewife and mother. As the distant storm approaches she is unaware of what the storm brings, her former lover Alcee.

In “The Storm” Kate Chopin makes the setting an essential and entwined part of her action and ideas. The story focuses on the two main characters, Calixta and Alcee and their short love affair. The action is taking place in a small town in Louisiana where all of the characters live. The story is set in the late nineteenth century when adultery was not expected from anyone, as woman were considered to be innocent and faithful. The integration of setting and story can be followed in details about the storm itself, setting of the atmosphere/mood, and also the complexities of married status in the society.

Calixta and Alcee had a strong passion for each other. Chopin says: Alcee rides up to her house and asks “if he can take shelter

The presence of Calixta's sexual desire and its intensity make this story revolutionary in its feminist statement about female sexuality. Chopin uses the conceit of a thunderstorm to describe the development, peak, and ebbing of passion in the encounter between Calixta and Alcee. At first, Calixta is unaware of the approaching storm, just as her sexual desire might be on an unconscious level; yet, as the storm approaches, Calixta grows warm and damp with perspiration. Chopin does the obvious by these two events when she writes that Calixta, "felt very warm . . . she unfastened her white saque at the throat. It began to grow dark and suddenly realizing the situation she got up and hurriedly went about closing windows and doors" (Part 2 Paragraph 1).

I will start with The Storm, the Initial Situation, The storm begins and Calixta was at home alone. Bobinôt, was away from home and can't protect his wife. When I was reading the story I was given the impression that a woman is alone and possibly in danger back at the house. The Conflict began when Calixta's old lover arrives at her house just in time to be stuck indoors with by the storm. It would be one thing if Calixta had to wait out the storm alone, worrying about her husband and small son being in stuck in the storm perhaps with no shelter But she's not alone: as soon as the storm starts, her ex lover showed up. We know trouble was about to start. Of course we know what happened next, Alcee and Calista had sex as part of the climax of the story. Now here is the Suspense part of the story ,Calixta's family returns home just after Alcée leaves. Will they cross paths? Will Calixta be able to cover up what has just happened? Those were the first question that came to mind while i was reading the story. Poor Bobinôt worries over whether Calixta will be angry with them when they return home although he was not the guilty party. but it all turns out to be just fine. To conclude the plot of the story, everyone benefits from the affair, and no one finds out about it. No one's going to find out about all the action that just happened. Alcée and Calixta's secret is officially safe,

Calixta does love Bobinôt. When he was out in the storm with Bibi, she was genuinely concerned for him. The sudden passion between Calixta and Alcée is brought on by the fact that it was the first time they had ever been alone. The passion was always there, it was just denied the opportunity to be acted upon. If they were truly in love they would have married when they had the chance. I am not bothered by the happy ending. Even though the story is considered morally wrong, I don’t believe stories are supposed to reinforce the dominant values of a society. I feel they are better served to open our eyes to the issues of society or provide a mental escape from the reality of those values. If this had happened in real life, I think it would

While Bibi and Bobinot are "Stuck in the storm," Calixta is feeling "free" because of the storm. Now by free I don’t mean released, as from captivity, but free of Bobinot and the marriage long enough to do something she wanted to do, which was sleeping with Alcee, even if only for a short time. It is discovered towards the end of the story that Alcee is also married with children, so it was a moment of "freedom" for him as well. Ironic, no? It would make more since for this to be an "accidental meeting" if Alcee lived further away, or if it happened out in public and they were both single, but this is not the case. He mustn't live far away, and we know this because in the end of the book, once Alcee has left, we read that "When they seated themselves at the table, they began laughing so much and so loud that anyone could hear them as far away as Laballiere's," which Alcee’s is. This tells us that he must not live very far away, so that being the case, why make the special stop off at Calixtas? We also find out that they had been lovers in the past, making it easier to assume that they still have feelings for each other, although no one suspects it in their marriages. The two seem to be married only for convenience, not for lust or

Instead of adding symbolic details through the settings, she is able to incorporate it in descriptions of characters and what they are feeling. In the short story “The Storm”, by Kate Chopin, two former love interests get together during a storm while one is separated from her family, and the other just happens to be passing by. In this story, the character of Calixta is described in detail when she is stuck in the house with her former love interest Alcée. When first describing her, Chopin states that, “She was a little fuller of figure than five years before when she had married; but she had lost nothing of her vivacity”, this description of her shows that even though she’s changed since she and Alcée were first together, she is still just as beautiful and enticing to him (SOURCE). In another story of Chopin's, the way two characters are described is an essential symbol for how the story is impacted by the plot twist at the very end.

Trying to calm her and comfort her, Alcee reassures her of their safety, when the heavy winds of the storm shake Calixta into Alcee’s arms. The touch of each others body reminds them of the old passion they once had for each other even though now they both are married to other people. Although conscious, that does not stop them from kissing each other and having sex as the powerful storm passes over them. Chopin describes the intense moment, stating the experience causes Calixta to experience her birthright, “The generous abundance of her passion, without guile or trickery, was like