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Analysis of Chopin's The Storm

In Kate Chopin's short story The Storm the major character Calixta commits adultery, but instead of feeling guilty over an act considered a sin in her time, she feels liberated. In effect, Chopin is saying that in this case, the female following through on her sexual feelings is good, a radical notion for her time. ChopinÆs main point, however, is not that adultery is good, but that a womanÆs self-fulfillment is. ôThe Stormö contains the basic theme that informs ChopinÆs work: the needs and desires of women are not met by the traditional roles prescribed to them in the late 19th Century. The theme of escape from tradition and authority was dominant in the work of Chopin, ôa woman who lived before her time, whose stories might be seen as a vindication of the rights of womenà.ö(Gilbert 12).

ChopinÆs fiction deals with the notion that marriage is repressive and confining for women. In ôThe Storm,ö Calixta is able to break her chains of confinement, if only temporarily. At a time when women were expected to behave ôproperlyöùthat is to have limited sexual desire and to act passivelyùCalixta goes against her societyÆs standard of virtue. She chooses to give in to her emotions. Like the real storm of the story, Calixta becomes a force of nature.

ôThe Stormö is a follow up story to ôAt the 'Cadian Ball,ö in which Calixta, a woman from a lower-class, rural background is in love with the upper class, handsome Alcee who is sexually attracted to her but wants to marry into his own class. The devastated Calixta settles for marriage with the good-natured, boring farmer Bobinet realizing that marriage will give her the safety and security demanded by her society. In ôThe Stormö Calixta is portrayed as a woman carrying out her wifely duties as ordained by her society. While her husband and young son are away from home, her married, rich neighbor Alcee drops by to get out of the storm. Their sexual passion is rekindle...

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Analysis of Chopin's The Storm. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 17:17, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1701020.html