The Storm And The Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin

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.

Kate Chopin was an American author who wrote novels as well as short stories. Her work was extraordinary and some of her greatest work was based on the feminist movement. Kate Chopin became known throughout the world as one of the most influential writers during the feminist movement. She has attracted great attention from scholars along with students, and her work has been translated into many different languages.

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.

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' 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.

There is no doubt her husband loves and cares for her but her feelings and passion seemed untouched by Bobinot. Before her marriage, Alcee seemed to satisfy her in a way that Bobinot does not, but since she loves her family she represses those feelings. The story of Calixta is saddening to me but as a mother myself, I can understand why she chooses to repress her feelings. Her husband seems to give her no cause to disrupt family life and leave the marriage and she does not make that decision based on pure selfish reasons. Her choice simply relieved her possible frustrations for a while.

The story begins when Bobinot and his son Bibi are at Fregheimer’s store and decide to stay there due to a storm that is coming. Meanwhile, Bobinot’s wife, Calixta, is at home. Calixta is a blonde woman with blue eyes. Calixta does not see the storm coming, but she felt a very warm (Chopin 122). She starts closing all the doors and windows; she goes outside to gather the clothes she hung before. She sees Alcee, who asks for shelter because of the storm approaching. Calixta gives him some shelter and the storm arrives. They have to stuck clothes underneath the door to avoid the water getting into the house. The storm is scares Calixta and Alcee is there next to her in her room. Calixta frightened hugs Alcee. Alcee kisses Calixta and he says “do toy remember-in Assumption, Calixta?” The storm had trapped them into the house and its magnificence took them to the bedroom where they now seem pushed into each other arms and then onto bed. After the affair and the storm had passed Calixta sees her lover to leave the scene and ride away (Chopin 123). After the storm Calixta turns from a lover to a lovely mother

Calixta’s old love Alcee represents the regrets and wrong decisions she has made. In the story she accidently falls into Alcee’s arms and remained there because of the feelings they both shared for each other. “ When he touched her breasts they gave themselves up in quivering ecstasy, inviting his lips. Her mouth was a fountain of delight, and when he possessed her they seemed to swoon together at the very borderland of life’s mystery”(107). When the storm finally passed away, Alcee went had left to continue on his

When these themes are combined, Louise experiences freedom and joy, if only for a moment. Calixta continues her life feeling happy and satisfied. Calixta decides to make her home a better one, but without any guilt. Louise and Calixta, like all women of this time period, were judged by themselves, their husbands and their neighbors. They felt boxed in and their own identities were never given the chance to mature. Women were judged on their purity, character and their domestic abilities. Women were denied their status as emotional and affectionate human beings, and they were denied their intellectual

The most common element found within both pieces of literature is that both women seem to be greatly selfish. In "The Story of an Hour," Mrs. Mallard seems to be overwhelmed with joy because of her husband's death. Instead of mourning in the loss of her husband, she gloats in the thought of joy and freedom. Chopin writes, "spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own." In resemblance to Mrs. Mallard, Calixta is also selfish. Calixta, with very little resistance, fights her temptation to be with Alcée but soon gives in to a sexual affair. Only vaguely do Mrs. Mallard and Calixta show any sympathy for their husbands.

Chopin uses the symbol of the storm to portray the brewing storm, its peak, and end with Calixta’s sexual encounter with Alcee. The storm is being used as a metaphor for Calixta’s increasing passion. In the beginning, “the leaves were so still” and the “somber clouds were rolling with sinister intention,” foreshadowing chaos and impending destruction. Similarly, Calixta is blissfully unaware of the quickly approaching storm as she furiously sews at her sewing machine. She is also unaware of her increasing sexual desires being stirred within her and is unaware of the chaos that lies ahead. Chopin writes, “But she felt very warm and often stopped to mop her face on which the perspiration gathered in beads. She unfastened her white sacque at the throat. It began to grow dark…she got up hurriedly and went about closing windows and doors.” Chopin is foreshadowing Calixta’s passionate encounter with Alcee by using the increasing humidity of the incoming storm to provide means for taking her clothes

The main focus of this short story is desire. The desire shown by both Calixta and Alcée for each other is obvious. Many people during the time this short story was written would look at it as being “dirty” or filthy. They would look at the affair as being dishonest and unlawful; similar to the way that some of us today. However, the way Chopin expresses the affair is not at all a sense of guilty. She presences it as if it was something that happens often and that it is a natural thing that humans do. Sexual desire is a natural aspect of people’s lives. Even though she is a strong feminist, she does not limit these sexual desires to just the female character, Calixta. She also dives deep into the desires of a man as well. “Both males and females, she seems to tell us, are complex creatures whom have no choice but to discover their passion, in spite of risks, confusion, and guilt. (Bloom 81)”. According to Per Seyersted, “sex in this story is a force as strong, inevitable, and natural as the Louisiana storm which ignites it” (Koloski 145). She observes sex as being a natural thing that cannot be avoided in or outside of wedlock (Koloski 147). She writes as if this affair was unavoidable to the drives between the two characters.

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).

Everyone who reads a story will interpret things slightly different than the person who reads it before or after him or her. This idea plays out with most every story, book, song, and movie. These interpretations create conflict and allow people to discuss different ideas and opinions. Without this conflict of thought there is no one devoting time to debate the true meaning of a text. Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” tells about a woman who is informed of her husbands death, processes the emotions, and becomes content with this new status as an individual person – losing all the expectations that society expected her to live by within a marriage. This story however is written in a way that the reader has the final interpretation of the text. There are many different interpretations on not only the reason for the main character’s death, but also on the overwhelming emotions that she faces.

Kate Chopin provides her reader with an enormous amount of information in just a few short pages through her short story, “The Story of an Hour.” The protagonist, Louise Mallard, realizes the many faults in romantic relationships and marriages in her epiphany. “Great care [is] taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Chopin 168). Little do Josephine and Richards know, the news will have a profoundly positive effect on Louise rather than a negative one. “When she abandoned herself,” Mrs. Mallard opened her mind to a new way of life. The word usage shows that the protagonist experienced a significant change. This life wouldn’t be compromised by her partner’s will, which will enable her to live for