Kate Chopin's 'The Storm'

Commonly explored throughout her works, the idea of marriage inhibiting a woman’s freedom is the driving force behind Kate Chopin’s contextual objections to propriety. In particular, The Awakening and “The Story of an Hour” explore the lives of women seeking marital liberation and individuality. Mrs. Chopin, who was raised in a matriarchal household, expresses her opposition to the nineteenth century patriarchal society while using her personal experiences to exemplify her feminist views.

Passionate sex and an affair in 1899 were not to even be thought of, or to be written about. Kate Chopin writes “The Strom” about a young woman, along with her ex-lover from a previous romance, who under the right circumstances, gives in to her natural and sexual urge to be completely satisfied. Kate Chopin does an amazing job of combining plot, language, and setting to create a very passionate and vivid story.

Kate Chopin was a feminist in times when feminism itself only began capturing minds all over the world. She wrote a short story that can now be a hymn for this fashionable movement. She imagines a world without men, instead of openly blaming them for her unhappiness. This is a world of freedom, bright future, unclouded skies and open windows. And “she saw … a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” (Chopin 2). This is certainly a point of view that was highly accused back then, but it can be accepted even with a bit of a humour nowadays.

In the story "The Storm", Kate Chopin plots a situation in which two people surrender to their physical desires. Chopin wrote fiction stories in the late 19th century. She was condemned due to the immorality presented in her work. At her times, woman was considered to be very innocent, and always faithful to her husband. In Chopin's work one sees a totally different view of a woman's behavior. She is not a popular writer of her era because of her crude works; the audience of her period could not justify her stories. In the story "the storm", Kate Chopin by hiding the immoral behavior of her characters behind the fear of bad weather is being ironic.

Looking at themes present in his short stories and novels, Kate Chopin presents examples of female strength and an assertive rebellion to the social norms during the late 1800s. By seeking to transparently and boldly portray the risqué behavior of her lead characters, which are with few exceptions also strong women as well, she cemented herself as a one of the unmistakable voices in the women’s rights movement, which culminated with women securing the right to vote in 1920, and the women’s liberation movement that would sweep the nation in the 1960’s. While not an outspoken voice publically during her life, as she may not have ever intentionally sought to spark feminist rebellion, the characters that she created became a presence in literature which influenced the likes of Sylvia Plath (Stone) and Edith Wharton (Papke 6). Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, a feminist American Historian from Emory University, said the following about Chopin’s covert feminist voice:

Written in a time when a woman’s sexual desires were considered unimportant and inappropriate, Kate Chopin writes a story portraying a married woman in the 1890’s who involves herself in an adulterous relationship with her former lover, Alcee. In “The Storm,” Chopin refrains from condemning Calixta’s sexual immorality by drawing parallels between the storm and her passion while ultimately allowing Calixta to move from the traditional housewife to a more liberating feminist role.

A theme is the prime element of literature, which contains the central idea of the story. It helps reflect on the characteristics that a story might have and reflects on observations interpreted from our view of the author. The theme, a main idea or underlying meaning of literary work may be stated directly or indirectly, but it is ultimately our job to figure it out. Throughout any story, short story or poem you can see the constant change of imagery that will play a big part in the development of the characters ability’s to demonstrate the theme. In “The Storm” by Kate Chopin, the theme illustrates many sexual desires, adultery, and happiness as well as shows a theme of conflict. Chopin uses a storm to represent sexual passionate tension that builds throughout the story between the two main characters Alcee and Calixta.

'The Storm' and 'The Story of an Hour' expresses the attitudes of two women's rebirth and liberation. These two stories are alike in several ways. Natures plays a major role in both of these women's lives. Calixta and Mrs. Louise Mallard struggle to find their independence and in doing so the endings are triumphant and tragic.

Do you know that stormy weather that makes you want to get comfortable? In this story, the main character, Calixta, is interrelated with the setting of the story, “The Storm” by Kate Chopin. In “The Storm”, setting plays the role as a catalyst that ignites Alcee’s and Calixta’s passion that then runs parallel with the storm. As their relationship builds together, Calixta’s natural desires become fulfilled; which without an outlet on the ability to express our emotions and natural desires, conflicts and storms result in our lives.

Kate Chopin’s short stories testify to display to the readers her viewpoints about love, sex and marriage that one is not usually aware of. These three topics all tied together. Typically, it’s easy to think that when you love someone you get married to them. You only commit yourself to them and no one else. Of course not all marriages work out but that’s life. In two particular short stories though, it establishes the struggle for woman around the 1800’s. Kate Chopin’s “The story of an Hour” and “The Storm” demonstrates the dark side of love, sex, and marriage.

     Kate Chopin was one of the greatest and earliest feminist writers in history, whose works have inspired some and drawn much criticism from others. Chopin, through her writings, had shown her struggle for freedom and individuality.

“The Storm” by Kate Chopin, was a writing that was ahead of it time. Kate wrote this short story in the late 1800’s when women had strict roles in society. This story is about two people who had an affair and lived life ever after with their spouses. When Calixta was first introduced in the story she was so consumed by washing and sewing that she didn’t know the storm was approaching. I believe this Introduction depicts the way we act in our lives. As humans we become confined in our daily routines that we begin to deny our inner most desires. According to Chopin’s, after Calixta has her affair/ or should I say after the storm passed, she felt rejuvenated, happy and refined. I’m not sure if this story is highlighting sexuality or cheating

Naturalism is about bringing humans into the “natural world”. We, as humans, are seen as aspects of nature collectively not separate like they once were. “Naturalism holds that everything we are and do is connected to the rest of the world and derived from conditions that precede us and surround us. Each of us is an unfolding natural process, and every aspect of that process is caused, and is a cause itself ” (“A Guide for Naturalism”). Humans are like “animals” they contain the same drives that animals have. They are just plain “natural”. Many authors express naturalism in their writings such as Kate Chopin. She expresses a naturalistic view on sexual drives which classify her as a

Kate Chopin was a successful author of numerous short stories and novels during her life; many critics refer to her as a forerunner author of the 20th century ("Kate"). Throughout Chopin 's life and the many experiences she endured, she grew a great sense of respect and empowerment towards women. However, she is not categorized as a feminist or a suffragist ("Kate"). Chopin insistently supported the revolutionary notion that women were strong individuals and were equal to men. Attributable to her resilient beliefs, the majority of the female characters in Chopin 's short stories are not portrayed as the typical women of her time but rather as an individual with wants and needs similar to herself.

In the 19th century, a group of people launched the suffrage movement, and they not only cared about women’s political rights, women’s property and body autonomy. Born in that age, Kate Chopin was aware of the importance of setting an example for those who were taken in by the reality to be an inspiration. So we call her a forerunner of the feminist author for every effort she put in advocating women’s sexual liberty, their self-identity and women’s own strength.