In the short stories, “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour”, the author Kate Chopin compares the struggles women of different social classes have with conforming to constraints of society in the late 19th century. In “The Storm”, Kate Chopin introduces Calixta, an uneducated, poor woman who has an affair with an old fling while her husband and son are stuck in town during a bad storm. One can tell Calixta is uneducated and poor because when she speaks, she speaks with many chopped off words and incorrect grammar for example when she says “If he only didn’ left Friedheimer’s!” (425) this could be because she came from a low class family or because she is African American which both in that time would lead her to having such poor grammar. But either way it is a sharp contrast to Alcée’s perfect grammar and etiquette while speaking which makes the affair even more taboo in their society. In the 1890’s …show more content…
Mallard who is an upstanding, fragile woman who finds freedom in her husbands “death.” One can tell that Mrs. Mallard is more of an upstanding higher class woman because when she speaks, she speaks in full sentences with proper grammar for example when she says “Go away. I am not making myself ill” (429). She is also very fragile, “great care was taken to break the news of her husband’s death.” (428) due to her “heart trouble” (428). She was upset immediately, but once she got over the shock, she realized what this meant for her, she was finally “Free! Body and soul Free!” (428). This changed her entire outlook on life, from that of a “shudder” (428) to that of a “quick prayer” (428) of life being long, finally getting to do the things she had always wanted to do but couldn’t because of social constraints and being married, she only loved him “sometimes – often she had not.” (429) but yet was still required to marry him out of obligation. In this way Mrs. Mallard and Calixta have many similarities and
Mrs. Mallard?s freedom did not last but a few moments. Her reaction to the news of the death of her husband was not the way most people would have reacted. We do not know much about Mr. And Mrs. Mallards relationship. We gather from the text that her freedom must have been limited in some way for her to be feeling this way. Years ago women were expected to act a certain way and not to deviate from that. Mrs. Mallard could have been very young when she and Brently were married. She may not have had the opportunity to see the world through a liberated woman?s eyes and she thought now was her chance.
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...
In the short story “The Storm”, Kate Chopin expresses the right all women have to be sexually fulfilled, through symbolism Chopin uses an unfulfilled marriage and captivating affair to show that undeniable passion triumphs all understanding, as well as excusing the actions of Calixta to achieve that level of passion. The story takes place in late 1800’s in southern town, Bobniot and Bibi are at the store when a big storm hits the town. Calixta wife to Bobniot and mother to Bibi is at home waiting for them to return. As the storm rolls in so does an old lover of Calixta’s; Alcee who seeks refuge from the storm in Calixta’s home. As Bobniot and Bibi waited out the storm, Calixta and Alcee engage in a passionate sexual affair. The affair evokes unspeakable passion and sexual awakening for both Alcee and Calixta. After the storm dissipates, Alcee leaves to go back to his wife and the boys return home.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” tries to shed light on the conflict between women and a society that assigns gender roles using a patriarchal approach. Specifically, Margaret Bauer highlights, that most of Chopin’s works revolve around exploring the “dynamic interrelation between women and men, women and patriarchy, even women and women” (146). Similarly, in “The Story of an Hour” Chopin depicts a society that oppresses women mostly through the institution of marriage, as women are expected to remain submissive regardless of whether they derive any happiness. The question of divorce is not welcome, and it is tragic that freedom for women can only be realized through death. According to Bauer, the society depicted in Chopin’s story judged women harshly as it expected women to play their domestic roles without question, while on the other hand men were free to follow their dreams and impose their will on their wives (149).
A Woman Far Ahead of Her Time, by Ann Bail Howard, discusses the nature of the female characters in Kate Chopin’s novel’s and short stories. Howard suggests that the women in Chopin’s stories are longing for independence and feel torn between the feminine duties of a married woman and the freedom associated with self-reliance. Howard’s view is correct to a point, but Chopin’s female characters can be viewed as more radically feminist than Howard realizes. Rather than simply being torn between independent and dependant versions of her personality, “The Story of an Hour’s” Mrs. Mallard actually rejoices in her newfound freedom, and, in the culmination of the story, the position of the woman has actually been elevated above that of the man, suggesting a much more radically feminist reading than Howard cares to persue.
Women have traditionally been known as the less dominant sex. They have been stereotyped as being housewives, and bearers and nurturers of the children. Many interesting characters in literature are conceived from the tension women have faced with men. This tension is derived from men, society, and within a woman herself. Even though these stories were written during the 19th century when modern society treated women as second class citizens, in “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour,” Kate Chopin illustrates how feminine power manifests when the female characters are able to discover their freedom.
She has no uniqueness of her own; she is just a woman that belongs to her husband Mr. Mallard. After she realizes how free she is, readers begin to see her as an actual person. The spring season reflects the rebirth of Mrs. Mallard’s character. The storm clouds clearing to show blue skies is symbolic of the storm of her marriage passing. Even though Mrs. Mallard knows that she should not be happy, she cannot stop her feelings of joy: “She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her” (151).
During the nineteenth century, Chopin’s era, women were not allowed to vote, attend school or even hold some jobs. A woman’s role was to get married, have children
Most women in Mrs Mallard’s situation were expected to be upset at the news of her husbands death, and they would worry more about her heart trouble, since the news could worsen her condition. However, her reaction is very different. At first she gets emotional and cries in front of her sister and her husbands friend, Richard. A little after, Mrs. Mallard finally sees an opportunity of freedom from her husbands death. She is crying in her bedroom, but then she starts to think of the freedom that she now has in her hands. “When she abandoned herse...
In “The Story of An Hour” by Chopin, she illustrates the role of woman in marriage and in the society during her time. It demonstrates the issue of male dominance. There are some similarities and differences in the role of women in marriage and in the community in the 1940’s compared to the way women are treated today. And these are seen in the rights of women and in the responsibilities of family and marriage. We read “A Story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin.
Calixta and Alce, the two main characters in the short story “The Storm” by Kate Chopin, are sexual, mature, and knowing adults. By having them discover amazing sex outside their marriages, they return to their own marriages renewed. Chopin openly condones adultery due to the fact that the characters are not punished and in the end “everyone was happy” (paragraph 40) . A common theme of fresh sexuality and desire is seen in this story though symbols and other literary elements. Kate Chopin is an American author that wrote short stories and novels in the 20th century.
Finally, Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” is a story with a variety of conflict. The conflict of Bobinot against Calixtra shown that conflict can be about relational problems, such as one person worrying over another or failing in their duties. Alcee’s conflict with Calixtra has shown a different side of relational problems, both of them not wanting their partners to find out of their actions, and their guilt in having committed the acts. The final conflict of the story, Alcee against Clarisse, shows that deceit can be another source of conflict, shown when Alcee sent a misleading letter to Clarisse. In conclusion, this story shows that conflict can occur, even when there is no physical confrontation.
Mrs. Mallard is an ill woman who is “afflicted with heart trouble” and had to be told very carefully by her sister and husband’s friend that her husband had died (1609). Her illness can be concluded to have been brought upon her by her marriage. She was under a great amount of stress from her unwillingness to be a part of the relationship. Before her marriage, she had a youthful glow, but now “there was a dull stare in her eyes” (1610). Being married to Mr. Mallard stifled the joy of life that she once had. When she realizes the implications of her husband’s death, she exclaims “Free! Body and soul free!” (1610). She feels as though a weight has been lifted off her shoulders and instead of grieving for him, she rejoices for herself. His death is seen as the beginn...
Kate Chopin, author of “The Story of an Hour” written in 1894 was the first author who emphasized strongly on femininity in her work. In the short story, Chopin writes about freedom and confinement Chopin is an atypical author who confronts feminist matter years before it was assumed. The time period that she wrote in women were advertised as a man’s property. The main idea in the short story is to illustrate that marriage confines women. In “The Story of an Hour” the author creates an intricate argument about freedom and confinement Mrs. Louise Mallard longing for freedom, but has been confined for so long freedom seems terrible. Mrs. Mallard wife of Brently Mallard instantly feels free when her husband dies. The reason she feels this way
Xuding Wang writes in her essay, Feminine Self-Assertion in “The Story of an Hour”, a strong defense for Kate Chopin’s classic work, “The Story of an Hour”. Wang provides powerful proof that one of the pioneering feminist writers had a genuine desire to push the issue of feminine inequality. Even decades later, Xuding Wang fights for the same ground as Kate Chopin before her. She focuses on critic Lawrence I. Berkove, who challenges that Louise Mallard is delusional with her personal feelings of freedom once she discovers the news that her husband has passed away. The story opens with the line “Knowing Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble” (Chopin). [1] Chopin uses allegory to describe