Infidelity In Kate Chopin's The Storm

Chopin presents many details of Calixta's affirmation of her sexuality and passion. As the storm's intensity increases, it becomes necessary to put something underneath the door to keep the rain out. ''My! what a rain! It's good two years sence it rained it rain' like that,' exclaimed Calixta as she rolled up a piece of bagging and Alcee helped her to thrust it beneath the crack.'; The sexual connotation of 'thrusting it beneath the crack'; is evident, but it is important to notice that Calixta initiates this sexual act, not Alcee. This is a far cry from an ordinary, repressed housewife. Quite the contrary, Chopin actually

The theme adultery was first initiated when Alcee requested to reside in Calixta’s house till the rain passed. “His voice and her own startled her as if from a trance…”. Judging from the way they both reacted, it is clear that the two still have some sort of feelings for each other. Another aspect that leads to the feelings of both characters is when Chopin outlines the setting of the room they are in. “The door stood open, and the room with it’s white monumental bed, its closed shutters, looked dim and mysterious.” Already, the tone has changed becoming more tense and so has the storm as it beat upon the shingled roof with force like Chopin describes in the story. When Calixta realizes the storm has gotten worse, she then walks over to the window with a disturbed look on her face and Alcee of course follows behind her which proves that he wants to be around her. From the minute Alcee walks in, Calixta begins to show signs of nervousness which proves that he still has some affect on her. The tension of the rain and Calixta’s feelings both build up as it begins to rain harder, the winds blow harder and the lightening become stronger which symbolizes Calixta’s feelings at the moment. She tries to

Kate Chopin implies in the selection, "The Storm" that the setting and the plot reinforces each character's action, but only two characters exemplify the title itself, Calixta and Alcee. The storm becomes the central element of Alcee's unrequited love for Calixta and ultimately the instrument of their forbidden love to each other. Hurston concurs in the "The Storm" that a forbidden relationship can become a cancerous love and silent death sentence.

Alcee helps Calixta safeguard the house, thereby placing them on the same footing as partners. Through the sexual encounter that ensues, Calixta continues to free herself from the confines of the societal constraints of being a woman, moving farther into her own individuality. Chopin describes Calixta?s body as finally ?knowing for the first time its birthright,? that is, freedom from inferiority (860). Since Calixta?s awakening comes through a sexual encounter, many argue that the sex she shares with Alcee is the birthright she discovers. By describing a previous encounter they shared in Assumption, Chopin shows that while the sex leads Calixta to her discovery, the breakthrough goes deeper than merely sex. The passion that Calixta finds within herself springs from this very self-awareness and freedom.

The feelings between Calixta and Alcee never went away. They restored their spirits and came together through desire. Even though they were past lovers, they did not treat sex and love the same. Once they were finished, Alcee left and did not sleep next to her. There was not only a storm outside; they had one in each of their relationships. Calixta and Alcee’s attitude changed for the better. They ended up treating their families much better. Sometimes you think the grass is greener on the other side, however the grass is only green where you water

As the storm approaches Calixta is home sewing, while husband Bobinot and son Bibi are out at the store. Bobinot notices the “sombre clouds that were rolling with sinister intention from the west, accompanied by a sullen, threatening roar.” (page 394) The description makes it obvious that it’s a threatening, dangerous storm. The father and son decide to remain at the store till the storm passed by.

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

Calixta the main character is an ordinary housewife that encouraged a coincidence that somewhat her life but most importantly her way of thinking. With the absence of her son and husband who were both stuck at the market during a sudden storm a coincidence occurred at home. Like the title, the storm signifies the turbulent event between Calixta and her old lover Alcee, both finally having the freedom from their very married lives. The perfect opportunity to re-express love for each other.

When Alcee rides up at the beginning of the storm Calixta gathers her husband s Sunday clothes in order to remember her sense of duty and loyalty to her husband.  Respecting social graces, Alcee tries to stay outside, but the storm drives him into the house.  Inside Calixta s home Alcee can see into her  dim and mysterious  bedroom, this foreshadows the forbidden relationship that takes place.

There is situational irony in the way that we expect that such a tempestuous (no pun intended) session of lovemaking, which is presented very explicitly but also in a way that suggests that Calixta and Alcee are somehow meant for each other actually benefits their respective marriages. Note how their union is presented: Her firm, elastic flesh that was knowing for the first time its birthright, was like a creamy lily that the sun invites to contribute its breath and perfume to the undying life of the world. Phrases such as Calixta knowing her "birthright" whilst having extra-marital sex with Alcee suggest that she will be unable to return to her husband after this. However, after the storm of passion that has been unleashed, the air appears to have been cleared, and both Calixta and Alcee are shown to return even happier than before to their respective

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).

The short story, “The Storm,” can be classified as a story that is explicit of its kind because of its sexual and adulteress content. Although the story is portrayed as that, Chopin is able to bring about two parallel subjects to combine with each other to bring about one meaning that contributes to the subject as a whole. In the story, an affair occurs in the midst of a storm between Calixta and Alcee, two fond lovers that find each other once again and relive their

but she behaves immorally. She is a very pretty woman who has a fling with her former lover Alcee while waiting out the storm. Calixta seems to be a good mother and to care for her husband, she just isn’t happy with him. For example, she worries about Bibi and Bobinot’s safety the storm, which proves she cares for them. Yet she finds comfort from her former lover Alcee while worrying about her husband and child. Chopin states “Alcee’s arm encircled her, and for an instant he drew he close and spasmodically to him” (The Storm 2). This proves she must care for her husband, but turns to Alcee when needed comforting.

This conceit of the storm continues throughout much of the story with the storm's crescendo symbolizing a climax in Calixta and Alcee`'s sexual encounter. At first, the obvious desire between the pair is sublimated into a nervous tension, and the effort to restrain their physical longing for the sake of social mores is paramount. Calixta exclaims, "If this keeps up, Dieu sait if the levees goin' to stan' it," which is symbolically indicative of the growing force of their passion and the weakening of their resistance before that passion. A blinding bolt of lightening breaks the lovers' nervous tension, much as it splits through the air and strikes the chinaberry tree. This violent crash precipitates Calixta and Alcee`'s first embrace and kiss, and the affair that ensues vividly matches the progress of the raging storm. The storm reaches a crescendo, which Calixta views as a delightful counterpart to their passionate love-making, for, "they did not heed the crashing torrents, and the roar of the elements made her laugh as she lay in his arms" (284). To make the parallel between the storm and Alcee and Calixta's affair particularly evident, Chopin consistently uses this conceit until the end of the encounter, for the thunder

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