Kate Chopin The Storm
Kate Chopin: "The Storm"
Kate Chopin lived from 1851 until 1904. She was born Katherine O'Flaherty and was raised in post- Civil War St. Louis by parents who were on the upper end of society. She married Oscar Chopin, moved to New Orleans, and had six children. After her husband died, Chopin moved back to St. Louis to start her writing career at age 33. She incorporated many taboos about literature into her writing. Some of these taboos were female sexuality, struggles, and triumph over the stereotypes that had been placed on them over the centuries. She was a very popular writer until 1898 when she wrote about even more controversial issues in Awakening. Many people felt that her views were very feminist and her previously loyal fans quickly rejected her writings, causing her to not attempt to write anything more.
Chopin's short story, "The Storm," shows the reader some of the controversial issues she wrote about. It was written in 1898 and was one of the last stories that she wrote before Awakening. It tells of the struggles of one woman to find happiness and excitement in her everyday life. The reader really does not get much information on the relationship at the beginning of the story, but one can imagine that it was becoming monotonous and boring. The title itself lets the reader know that this storm is the result of a long chain of events that have built up over time, like a thunderstorm in the middle of the summer comes after many long days of intense heat. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss the events that lead to the apex of the 'storm,' the consequences that follow the decisions that are made, and how this short story could be seen as feministic.
The beginning of the s...
... middle of paper ...
.... He is a fool and doesn't see that she 'played' him and used him to satisfy one of her desires.
This story could be seen as feministic for many reasons. The way that Calixta disregards her responsibilities to her husband and son and goes after what she wants is a great example of this. Also, she doesn't get caught, had some fun, and her marriage wasn't ruined. This is an example of how Chopin felt that women should take control of their lives and change them if they aren't completely happy.
Kate Chopin was a great writer who wasn't truly appreciated until years after her death. However, her views and ideas are still relevant in today's society. I also commend her for expressing her views and feelings even though she knew that the public would disagree with her. It is a shame that she was not recognized during her life as the great writer that she was.
As a forerunner of the modern feminist movement, Kate Chopin explored bold new characterizations of her female subjects. Chopin is famous for her progressive depiction of the female characters in her stories. Two such stories, 'The Storm' and 'The Story of an Hour,' examine and refute the long held ideal of the subservient wife. 'The Storm,' written in 1898 but not published until later because of its provocative content, describes the passionate extramarital affair between Calixta and Alcee, a former lover. 'The Story of an Hour' follows Louise Mallard as she deals with the death of her husband. Chopin uses the extraordinary events in the characters' lives to bring them out of the coma of submissive living. In both stories, the female protagonist awakens from a marriage-induced trance and into a state of self-awareness as a person separate from her husband.
Kate Chopin was a feminist American short story and novelist. She is known as an advocate of feminist authors of the 20th century. Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Brontes influenced her writing. She grew up in a household full of women; including her mother, great-grandmother and the female maids her mother owned. Kate spent a lot of time up in her attack reading.
Wyatt, Neal "Biography of Kate Chopin" English 384: Women Writers. Ed. Ann M. Woodlief Copyright: 1998, Virginia Commonwealth University. (26 Jan. 1999) http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384/katebio.htm
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.
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.
Kate Chopin was an American author and short story writer. She is considered among the most vital ladies in nineteenth-century American fiction. She was born on Feb. 8, 1851, in St. Louis, Missouri, and died there on Aug.
Kate Chopin was a woman and a writer far ahead of her time. She was a realistic fiction writer and one of the leaders and inspirational people in feminism. Her life was tragic and full of irregular events. In fact, this unusual life had an enormous effect on her writings and career. She depicted the lifestyle of her time in her works. In most of her stories, people would find an expansion of her life’s events. In her two stories “The Storm” and “The Story of One Hour” and some of her other works she denoted a lot of her life’s events. Kate Chopin is one of those writers who were influenced by their life and surrounded environment in their fiction writing, and this was very clear in most of her works.
Because of losing her husband in her middle age Kate Chopin has become heroine to selfish, stupid, and mean to readers, which as a southern woman she was not supposed to do what appeared in her creative writing. She was influenced by her society and surrounding. Secondly, Chopin has become exposed the unique local perception of race. Also, her writing become very controversial many students and scholar inspired to study her writing. However, she has been a great writer in the modern women world
In “The Storm,” Chopin explores the idea of sexual desire as a human emotion that is not exclusive for males. Even in today’s society, women possessing their bodies and undergo emotions such as sex drive. Calixta’s account in “The Storm,” reveals that passion and sexual experiences are female emotions and they have the choice to utilize their flesh for what it was made for: pleasure. Initially, the story focuses on the hours prior to the storm, where all the characters are anxious for what is yet to come. Calixta, however, is shown to feel “… no uneasiness for her safety” because she knows that sexual desire is normal and once it passes, whether it is satisfied or not, everything turns back to normal (Chopin 81). As the storm approaches, Alce Leballire is introduced, and the passion between the two emanates from the pages of “The Storm.” Calixta explains that sexual awakenings are sporadic, like storms, in the phrase “’ My! What a rain! It had been two years since it rain’ like that,” explaining that, despite sexual needs being a day to day human emotion, the need for a different experience, something strong, with thunders and showers of passion, is also a female sentiment (Chopin 282). Furthermore, another imperative point to highlight is the storm as a gloomy setting and plot device. According to Chopin, the weather obscured “… the view of far-off cabins and distant wood in a gray mist”
Kate Chopin, born Catherine O’Flaherty, was an American author who wrote numerous short stories and two novels during the time period of 1889 to 1902. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri on February 8th, 1850 to Thomas O’Flaherty, an Irishman, and Eliza Faris, an American woman of French descent. She spent all of her childhood in St. Louis, up until the age of 18 at which she became engaged to her future husband, Oscar Chopin. She was said to be very personable, fitting in with both the Irish and French sects, and was easily likeable. During her childhood she experienced much sorrow, as her father and grandmother (whom she held a close relationship with) both passed away while she was young. She also had to endure of the pressures of an entire city divided by the Civil War, in which her half brother was killed. These tragedies however helped influence her future writing and feminist ideals, as she was mentored almost exclusively by women throughout her childhood. These feminine mentors included her mother, her grandmother and great
Kate Chopin was a woman whose feminist viewpoints were far ahead of her time, which of course garnered her more than her share of criticism. In a time when women were expected to behave "properly" and sexual desire was considered to be something only experienced by men, Chopin spoke with exceptional openness about human sexuality. She lambasted society for its perpetual close-mindedness in a time when righteousness was considered to be an attribute, and she helped to generate more enlightened attitudes among both the women and men of her time.
Born originally as Katherine O’Flaherty, Kate Chopin came to life on February 8th, 1851 in St. Louis, Missouri to Thomas and Eliza O'Flaherty. The family she was born into was known as one of St. Louis’ wealthiest family’s because of her father’s well-known success as merchant involving the sale of boats and wholesale grocery.
Catherine O’Flaherty, better known as Kate Chopin, pictured at the left (O’Neil), was born on February 8, 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri to parents Eliza and Thomas. She was the third of five children, but the only one to live past the age of twenty-five. Her mother, who had a strong French background, raised Chopin in a bilingual and bicultural home (“Biography”). The French language and culture would have a strong influence on Chopin’s literary works later in life. At the age of five, Chopin began attending The Sacred Heart Academy, a Catholic boarding school. While attending, nuns mentored Chopin, who rose to the top of her class and received many awards (Wyatt). Along with the nuns, other female figures in her life had a strong impact on young Chopin. These women included her mother, grandmother, and especially her beloved great-grandmother who taught her French, music, and gossip of past St. Louis women. These women’s intelligence and independence show a great influence on Chopin’s work (“Biography”).
In “the story of an hour” and “The Storm” by Kate Chopin, the writer mainly focuses on the female character. The male characters are only “taken away” in her stories. In her stories, She transitions smoothly and rapidly among characters' points of view, but mainly, specifically expands and write about the female characters. The topic fits the story perfectly. Chopin follows specific fundamentals and techniques to highlights the drama of the hour. In the short story, she used four to five paragraphs only to express Louise’s emotions. Share details about her feelings and behaviors. The details she shares was a lot but powerful. The stories are short, but the impact it makes is compelling. The writer first surprises us with Louise’s unrealistic reaction when she first murmurs “free” to herself. She uses repetition to highlight important points. “free”” free”” free,” the choice of her words are what make her story
There were more clues to unpack than expected but once I realized the writing style of Kate Chopin I enjoyed reading each sentence to pick out the hidden meaning. Xuding Wang’s essay was helpful seeing what I could not see on my own. The point that grabbed me out of Wang’s essay was the critic, Berkove, whom as I mentioned earlier in this analysis seemed to be the same blockade to women that Chopin wrote about in 1894. To know the character in the story you must know the writer. Kate Chopin was called a rebel in her time. Her stories were a call to action by women and to go as far as Berkove did and call those ideas delusional make him seem out dated and controlling. I can only experience what I do in life. I’ll never understand challenges faced by people of other races, cultures, or sex. Reading the original story and another woman’s discussion on it was very enlightening. There were emotions described that I’ve never considered. With a critic like Berkove using language as he did in the critique against Chopin’s work it makes me curious just how far our society has come. Racism is still alive and well, religious persecution and in this story, sexism. It seems to me that the world has never really changed and will continue to bring with it the same problems as the days