Characters in The Storm and The Scarlet Letter

Kate Chopin's short story "The Storm" and Nathaniel Hawthorne's romance novel The Scarlet Letter are different genres in literature, but each tells the story of a woman who engages in an adulterous affair. In Chopin's short story, Calixta is married to Bobinot and has a son Bibi. However, she is unfulfilled by her lack of expression other than the roles of wife and mother. During a stormy afternoon when her husband and son are away, Calixta has an affair with a married family man, Alcee.

In Hawthorne's novel, Hester Prynne is married but her husband, Roger Chillingworth, is absent. Hester engages in an affair and has a child to Arthur Dimmesdale, a local preacher. Though she has sinned, Hester struggles to live a life of repentance and dignity with her daughter Pearl despite the condemnation of her Puritan community. Despite temporarily giving in to their passion, both women recognize the futility of their desire. This analysis will compare and contrast the characterization of Calixta and Hester Prynne, in order to demonstrate that their exploration of sexual fulfillment outside of marriage stems from the confining existence each lives in societies that are dominated by men that limited women's freedom and expression.

Both Kate Chopin and Nathaniel Hawthorne use symbolism to help define their respective characters of Calixta and Hester. In "The Storm," a severe storm is brewing that symbolizes the storm inside of Calixta. Calixta, somewhat

Related Essays

Round Characters .... overcome the situation. The significant change in this story is brought about by a dust storm that begins to rise up. Ellen sets .... (918 4 )

Analysis of Chopin's The Storm .... Their sexual passion is rekindled, and fulfilled, leaving all the characters better off. "So the storm passed and everyone was happy" (Chopin 158) is the final .... (1006 4 )

The Storm & Feminist Philosophy .... Their sexual passion is rekindled, and fulfilled, leaving all the characters better off. "So the storm passed and everyone was happy" (Chopin 158) is the final .... (1004 4 )

The Storm Kate Chopin .... with "sinister intention". Various allusions and symbols of the storm mirror the emotions of the characters. For example, Calixta .... (369 1 )

The Perfect Storm & the Gloucester Fishing Industry .... While Billy Tyne and others are significant characters in the book, from my .... There are a variety of methods illustrated in The Perfect Storm, from the methods .... (1157 5 )

ctions considered sinful or immoral. Puritan leaders believed religious authority overruled individual freedom. These leaders served a prosecutorial role as we see them do against Hester in The Scarlet Letter. The public scaffold on which Hester must stand, guilty of adultery and condemned to wear a scarlet "A" on her chest, symbolizes this condition, "Both men and women, who had been familiarly acquainted with Hester Prynne, were now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time...that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated" (Hawthorne 51). Such stringent forms of punishment against what was perceived to be shameful or sinful behavior served as a powerful control over individual behavior, particularly the behavior of women in a highly patriarchal society. It is readily apparent how women living in oppressed cultures might repress their true feelings and desires, especially those of a sexual nature. Both Calixta and Hester will submit to these desires, but Hester pays a significant price because her transgression is made public and she is tormented by Chillingworth and the townspeople. Ironically, Chillingworth does not find redemption because he does not offer forgiveness. Hester is red

Category: Literature - C