The Protagonist In The Storm And A Respectable Woman
In both “The Storm” and “A Respectable Woman”, The main female protagonists exert control over their sexuality and play major roles within their marriages. By playing these major roles, consequently, the male protagonists are respectful, of the female protagonists and value their thoughts. They do not dismiss what the women say because they are female, as many men did during these time periods. With the women engaging in sexual acts and/or having sexual desires without feeling guilty, Chopin challenges the stereotype of female purity. Calixta and Mrs. Baroda, the protagonists, are in command of their own sexuality and have significant roles in their marriages. Within their marriages, they both are strong willed and opinionated towards their
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Even Mrs. Baroda, who did not give into her own temptation, requested to invite Gouvernail over again despite her intense longing for him. She also did not have any guilt in the moment of her having these desires. “She wanted to draw close to him and whisper against his cheek—she did not care what” (A Respectable Woman, 2-3). Mrs. Baroda was so in the moment of exploring these fantasies that nothing about whether or not it was what “respectable woman” would do was crossing her mind at the time. She liked this feeling of sensuous desire and that is evident by her inviting Gouvernail back to her house to experience this feeling again. If she was remorseful, Gouvernail would have never been invited back. Unlike Mrs. Baroda, Calixta did not experience this uncertainty nor did she shy away from temptation. “The generous abundance of her passion, without guile or trickery… When he touched her breasts they gave themselves up in quivering ecstasy, inviting his lips” (The Storm, 3). Calixta not only felt unremorseful in the heat of the moment, rather even after this interaction with Alcee she never showed any signs of regret and the fact that Alcee is staying in town for another month implies that she will most likely do it again. With no tricks or mind games involved, she could be freely passionate with Alcee and come home to her husband with a smile on her face, as she did the first
Even Mrs. Baroda, who did not give into her own temptation, requested to invite Gouvernail over again despite her intense longing for him. She also did not have any guilt in the moment of her having these desires. “She wanted to draw close to him and whisper against his cheek—she did not care what” (A Respectable Woman, 2-3). Mrs. Baroda was so in the moment of exploring these fantasies that nothing about whether or not it was what “respectable woman” would do was crossing her mind at the time. She liked this feeling of sensuous desire and that is evident by her inviting Gouvernail back to her house to experience this feeling again. If she was remorseful, Gouvernail would have never been invited back. Unlike Mrs. Baroda, Calixta did not experience this uncertainty nor did she shy away from temptation. “The generous abundance of her passion, without guile or trickery… When he touched her breasts they gave themselves up in quivering ecstasy, inviting his lips” (The Storm, 3). Calixta not only felt unremorseful in the heat of the moment, rather even after this interaction with Alcee she never showed any signs of regret and the fact that Alcee is staying in town for another month implies that she will most likely do it again. With no tricks or mind games involved, she could be freely passionate with Alcee and come home to her husband with a smile on her face, as she did the first