Feminine Sexuality and Passion in Kate Chopin's The Storm In Kate Chopin's short story The Storm, the narrative surrounds the brief extramarital affair of two individuals, Calixta and Alcée. Many critics do not see the story as a condemnation of infidelity, but rather as an affirmation of human sexuality. This essay argues that "The Storm" may be interpreted as an affirmation of feminine sexuality and passion as well as a condemnation of its repression by the constraints of society. If one is to attempt to interpret The Storm, it becomes necessary to examine the conditions surrounding the story's genesis. The story was written in 1898, very shortly after Chopin had completed "The Awakening", "the boldest treatment …show more content…
Chopin's title refers to nature, which is symbolically feminine; the storm can therefore be seen as symbolic of feminine sexuality and passion, and the image of the storm will be returned to again and again throughout the story. At the beginning of the tale, which is divided into five sections, Bobinôt and his young son Bibi decide to wait out a rapidly approaching storm at the store. Bobinôt's wife, Calixta, is home alone, tending to the household chores. The second section begins with Calixta being unaware that a storm is …show more content…
The line seems to be interjected haphazardly into the story: "So the storm passed and everyone was happy" (p212). There is a purpose in the ambiguity of the ending, however; it allows Chopin to create an ending that unifies her central theme. Throughout the narrative, she presents feminine sexuality through the imagery of the storm. Her protagonist is unaware of the sexuality within herself, and it is only by casting aside the constraints of society and marriage that she is able to know her true birthright, feminine sexuality. Chopin is not arguing that one can only acheive this knowledge outside of marriage, but rather that it can only be acheived in the absence of societal constraints; her unreserved portrayal of feminine sexuality would have been seen as a radical affront to the society of her time. The ending is therefore purposefully ambiguous: one may see the storm's passage as implying a happy ending, or one may see it as implying that the storm will eventually return, perhaps with the intent to destroy. Kate Chopin, however, sees feminine sexuality as something that is pure, natural, and very real in its existence; one cannot assume that a brief and limited awakening that passes like a storm will be enough to make one
Overall, John M. Barry was able to define and characterize scientific research. Using rhetorical strategies such as, comparison, specific diction, and contrast Barry is able to show how scientific research is uncertainty
Kate Chopin's short story 'The Storm'; describes an encounter of infidelity between two lovers during a brief thunderstorm. The story alludes to the controversial topic of women's sexuality and passion, which during Chopin's time no one spoke about much less wrote about. So controversial was 'The Storm,'; that it was not published until after her death in eighteen ninety-nine. The story is broken up into five sections, each filled with small clues and hints that reflect her message. In short, Kate Chopin's 'The Storm'; is about a confirmation of feminine sexuality and passion and a rejection of the suppression of it by society.
The short story “The Storm” by Kate Chopin, deals with the subject of adultery. The story takes place in the early 1900’s. There are two main characters, Calixta (the wife) and Alcee (the former lover). Alcee must take refuge from a passing storm in Calixta’s house, while he is there the two end up making love while Calixta’s husband and son have to wait out the storm at the local store. By doing this Chopin implies the theme that is, adultery is natural and does not necessarily have negative consequences. Through out the story the constant changing of imagery plays a great role in the development of characters and their ability to demonstrate the theme.
In Kate Chopin’s “The Storm”, she offers an intoxicating account of two souls awakened by a storm. The story was composed on July 19, 1898. At this time in history women were considered objects, their sole purpose in life was to serve their husbands. In addition, social stratification was an important aspect of society that determined who they married. Calixta’s marriage could have been a product of an arrangement, making it of unnatural origin. Chopin points out singular characteristics of the storm to shed light on the uncommon strength of a marriage when it is not determined by social norms. Consequently, Chopin brings Calixta and Alceé together to embellish their passion, in which Calixta plays an active role rather than a submissive one.
'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.
Like in many feministic works, that struggle constantly to point out the corruptions of a patriarchal society, which subordinates women to men and subconsciously make them accept their inferior position without defending, their opinions, their interests and themselves, Kate Chopin in her short story “The Storm”, does something completely different of what was consider as acceptable in the 18th century´s literature. She creates the character of a woman who breaks the socially accepted conception of how a woman should be and act in a relationship, or in this case in a marriage, to express her sexuality. In this society women were put in an inferior position and were deprived of many privileges and rights given to men, especially in the sexual aspect; but Chopin, with her viewpoints, went ah...
All in all, Kate Chopin is able to combine two very different aspects of life and involve the relationship and symbolism of the storm to physical needs, sexual desires, and new and profound joy. By bringing these two parallel subjects together, the author is able to show the deeper meaning of one simple word, “storm,” and reveal a story that shows the attitudes and beliefs towards marriage and sex. In doing so, Chopin creates a strong point of view between these two subjects and allows for the view of regulations of sex and marriage to be shown throughout her short story, “The Storm.”
During the Victorian women were sees as slaves to their house hold. Kate Chopin uses the beginning, climax and resolution of the story as a storm. Throughout the story she uses vivid imagery and careful word choices in order to add detail to the dramatic plot of the story. Kate Chopin’s "Storm" represents something much greater than a weather phenomenon but a metaphysical symbol that represents freedom of choice, and women birthright"; Kate Chopin also describes how men are the creators of these storms.
Time had changed, the housekeeper was not the symbol of the woman anymore. Some women put down their responsibility for the family to look for so-called “passion,” which caused potential risk for family. In the article “What’s Hidden in Kate Chopin’s ‘the Storm,’” Bartee, professor at Strayer University, stated, “One can be free to make a choice if you want to be with a person and not have to be stuck in an unwanted relationship.” She explains that the selective right was not just for men but also for women; they were not affected by the feudal ideology. On the other hand, Readers were able to substitute into woman’s inner thought and sense through the effective tone and third person narration; it allowed us to understand the desire of modern women who pursued the excitement outside of their marriage. Even though it was a good phenomenon that woman had the freedom of choice, was everyone happy as the storm
The first thing I noticed about Kate Chopin’s “The Storm,” is that it is utterly dripping with sexual imagery and symbolism. Our heroine, if you will, seems to be a woman with normally restrained passions and a well-defined sense of propriety, who finds herself in a situation that tears down her restraint and reveals the vixen within. I wonder if it was intentional that the name Calixta makes me think of Calypso – the nymph from Greek mythology. If half of the sexual symbolism I found in this story was intentional, Chopin was a genius. I was quite taken with the sexual imagery of the colors mentioned: white, and red. There is also mention a place called Assumption, while there’s nothing written on it in the bible, I believe it’s the popular opinion of those of Christian faiths, that Mary (Jesus’ mother) going to heaven was called “The Assumption.” Again, I cannot accept that as merely a happy coincidence, I believe its mention in the story was intentional. Finally, we have the storm, so central to the theme of the story that it was named for it. In this work, as well as others by Chopin, there is a recurring theme of infidelity, or women behaving in ways that society generally doesn’t accept, women behaving badly, if you will, I cannot help but wonder if Kate Chopin used her writing to express desires that she would not otherwise have expressed.
Storytelling has been a common pastime for centuries. Over the years it has evolved into different styles containing different themes. Kate Chopin, a well-known author of the 20th century, wrote stories about the secrets in women’s lives that no one dared to speak of. Her work was not always appreciated and even considered scandalous, but it opened up a world that others were too afraid to touch. In Chopin’s story “The Storm,” a woman has an affair that causes an unlikely effect. The story’s two themes are portrayed greatly through an abundance of imagery and symbolism, along with the two main characters themselves.
Kate Chopin is one of the most astounding writers of early American short fiction. This author is considered to be among the “most important women in nineteenth-century American fiction” ("Katherine Chopin"). She was also “a significant figure in American feminist literature”(Kort, par 1). One of her famous short stories is called “The Storm”. This deals with the subject of infidelity and sexual fulfillment outside of marriage without moral judgments can be found in this piece. This story was written in 1898 but wasn’t published until 1969 (Larsson, par 17). Chopin uses symbolism, conflict, and setting to bring forth a story that is based on feminist.
Barry opens up this section with a metaphor, stating that “all real scientists exist on the frontier,” and continuing on to compare scientific research to the western frontier. As the western frontier was new and undiscovered in early America until people became bold enough to venture out there, scientific research is new and undiscovered as well until one has the boldness to explore the work. This metaphor relating to the frontier allows Barry to clearly paint a picture of his characterization of scientific research. As he continues on in explaining the unknown, Barry writes a series of rhetorical questions relating to the metaphor of the frontier. As the rhetorical questions continuously follow one another, they mimic the job a scientist would have in inquiring date within an experiment. These questions not only make the reader think thoroughly about the roles of scientists, but also force the reader to think like a scientist his or herself. This comparison of scientific research to the frontier, as well as the rhetorical questions within it, allow Barry to portray the unknown factor within science, emphasizing the boldness and curiosity a great scientist must have in order to be truly
primarily sexuality. Chopin declares that women are capable of overt sexuality in which they explore and enjoy their sexuality. Chopin shows that her women are capable of loving more than one man at a time. They are not only attractive but sexually attracted (Ziff 148). Two of Chopin’s stories that reflect this attitude of sexuality are The Awakening and one of her short stories “The Storm”. Although critics now acclaim these two stories as great accomplishments, Chopin has been condemned during her life for writing such vulgar and risqué pieces. In 1899 Chopin publishes The Awakening. She is censured for its “positively unseemly” theme (Kimbel 91). Due to the negative reception of The Awakening Chopin never tries to publish “The Storm”. She feels that the literary establishment can not accept her bold view of human sexuality (Kimbel 108). Chopin definitely proves to be an author way ahead of her time.
Conclusively, teenage depression is a chronic problem in the life of teenagers, which should be properly handled. When signs of this are seen in teenagers, adequate steps should be taken, in order to ensure their safety and restore their mental strength.