Preview

The Storm By Kate Chopin Literary Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
256 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Storm By Kate Chopin Literary Analysis
"The Storm" by Kate Chopin uses a setting of a storm to mirror the affair between lovers. While Calixta's husband Bobinôt is stuck in a local shop with their son, Bibi, she is closing up the house for the storm to come. While doing so, Alcée asks to come into Calixta's home. The storm brings the two together, pushing them into each other's arms. This allows them to get physical before the world outside becomes normal again. Calixta and Alcée once were two lovers, in Assumption. "Oh! She remembered; for in Assumption he had kissed her and kissed and kissed her; until his senses would well night fail, and to save her he would resort to a desperate flight." (Chopin, 122). But as the storm brings them closer, it also progresses in their actions.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Analysis Of Kate Chopin's Short Story 'The Storm'
    • 82 Words
    • 1 Page

    Analysis Of Kate Chopin's Short Story 'The Storm'

    The short story “The Storm,” is about a woman who attempts to conform to society’s norm of marriage, but discovers a different way to satisfy her sexual needs which in the end results in happiness and fulfillment. Chopin brilliantly revolves the story around a storm, hence the title. Literally, a storm means a disturbance of the normal condition of the atmosphere, manifested by an unusual force, which is exactly what she depicts throughout the story with the affair between Calixta and Alcee.…

    • 82 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Calixta's Affair In 'The Storm'
    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Calixta's Affair In 'The Storm'

    In any marriage, it is important for the wife to feel secured, loved, and to receive sexual gratification to maintain a strong commitment to her husband. Unfortunately, in Kate Chopin's "The Storm," Calixta does not receive all of these things from her husband Bobinot. Calixta's husband Bobinot lacks a sense of power and control in their marriage and also leaves her feeling sexually frustrated. Calixta's encounter with Alcee Laballiere also reminds her of her dull marriage and the passion her and Alcee has once shared. Because of the unfulfillment of her marriage to Bobinot, Calixta is driven to commit adultery with Alcee.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Similar Women in Kate Chopin's "The Storm" and "Desiree's Baby" Essay Example
    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Similar Women in Kate Chopin's "The Storm" and "Desiree's Baby" Essay Example

    The mothers in “The Storm” and “Desiree’s Baby” both seem to care about their children deeply and love them no matter what their problems with their spouses. Surprisingly in “The Storm”, “Calixta, at home, felt no uneasiness for their safety” as Chopin states referring to Bobinôt and Bibi’s being away from home during the storm (16). Calixta does not know at this point that a storm was on its way, as she was deep in her sewing. She soon realized the danger, however, when Alcee arrived and the storm made its danger known, “"Bonté!" she cried, releasing herself from…

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparison Of Social Norms In The Hands By Sherwood Anderson And The Storm
    • 1420 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Comparison Of Social Norms In The Hands By Sherwood Anderson And The Storm

    The setting of the house during the storm develops an environment of solitude without guilt normally caused by social norms. The removal of social norms and the complete isolation of the setting allow Calixta to fully express her sexuality. Since “the rain was coming down in sheets and obscuring the view of far-off cabins,” Calixta and Alcee were completely isolated from the rest of society(Chopin). The setting during the storm “is remarkable...for the freedom it asserts in the face of the suffocating conventionality of the 1890’s”(Bender 158). The momentary setting with the storm creates a world within the world where no restrictions exist and where Calixta is free to express her sexuality. The intensity of this setting does not scare Calixta. The purpose of the setting is to show a contrast between surroundings with restrictive norms versus the absence of these norms. Ultimately the house during the storm gives Calixta freedom of expression. A similar situation occurs in Wing Biddlebaum’s life as a…

    • 1420 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Storm By Kate Chopin Literary Analysis
    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Storm By Kate Chopin Literary Analysis

    In Kate Chopin’s “The Storm,” both the plot and the setting of the story help support each other. Chopin was gifted in her use of the setting to strengthen the plot symbolically; in doing so she created a powerful atmosphere. The atmosphere created by Chopin’s style of writing gave “The Strom” a sense of excitement that raised the temperature of the reader’s blood and kept them turning the page for more.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Irony in Kate Chopin
    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Irony in Kate Chopin

    "The Storm" contains both dramatic and situational irony. Alcée takes shelter in Calixta's home as the storm begins. Bobinôt, Calixta's husband, and their son Bibi, are waiting the storm out at a local store. As the story progresses, Alcée and Calixta indulge in their attraction and lust for one another and find satisfaction in each other's flesh. On their way home, Bobinôt and Bibi stop just outside their house to clean the mud that collected on their pants and shoes because of the heavy rain. Bobinôt tells Bibi, "My! Bibi w'at will yo' mama say! You ought to be ashame," believing that Calixta is going to be angry with them for the mud on their clothes (Chopin 118). The narrator uses Bobinôt's concerns with entering the house dirty to introduce a twist of irony. "Then prepared for the worst, the meeting with an over scrupulous housewife, they enter cautiously at the back door (118). Instead being angry, Calixta was happy. She expressed happiness for their safe return and laughs so loudly that "anyone might have heard them as far away as Laballière's" (118). The house is already tainted by the affair between Calixta and Alcée. Therefore, Bobinôt and Bibi cannot make the house any dirtier than Calixta has. Calixta shows her lack of concern about her actions by laughing with her family. She laughs loud enough, according to Lawrence I. Berkove, that one can assume that she "intended for her laughter to carry to [Alcée's] house" giving hope to Alcée for further encounters and showing Calixta is…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism in "The Storm"
    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Symbolism in "The Storm"

    “The Storm”, written by Kate Chopin in 1898, examines the uncontrollable desires of a young wife, lured into the arms of her past lover as her husband and son are caught in a storm. Bobinôt and four-year-old Bibi are running errands when the storm suddenly hit. Bobinôt’s wife, Calixta was at home sewing when she noticed the severe storm happening outside. When Calixta went outside to gather some clothing, her old lover Alcée asked for shelter during the storm. Through her use of symbolism, Chopin gives the reader her feelings on the love affair between Calixta and Alcée.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Who Is Kate Chopin's Essay 'The Storm'
    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Who Is Kate Chopin's Essay 'The Storm'

    The essay of "The Storm", written by Kate Chopin, illustrates a story of one woman and one man drawn to each other by lust. Situated together by a storm, Calixta, the woman in this essay and "very married woman" has no choice but to let in an old friend and once loved companion out of the pouring rain. As a result, old flames spark a maybe-new relationship between the two. This essay is an alternative twist to many other stories dealing with unfaithfulness and infidelity, given that men are more prone to being accused of committing adultery with regard to women. This essay shows, no matter what the variables are "when the cat 's away the mice will play".…

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Roles Of Men And Women In The Gilded Age
    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Roles Of Men And Women In The Gilded Age

    Alcee ask him if he can come in the house for shelter till the storm passes. While the storm is passing Alcee and Calixta begin to have having feelings for each other and had sex. After the storm passes Alcee leaves the house with a smile, and then her husband and his son Bibi came back home thinking that Calixta will be mad since they are filled with mud but she didn’t care because she was just filled with joy to see them again. There are two types of storms happening in the story, the first storm is describe as dark cloud, winds, rain, and lighting, and then there is the other storm that we can’t see which is the storm of passion, pleasure, and love.…

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Storm By Susan Chopin Literary Analysis
    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Storm By Susan Chopin Literary Analysis

    In the 1980’s, women had distinctive roles in society, especially within their marriage. One contrast of gender roles within a marriage at that time was that men cheated and women were supposed to be ignorant to the cheating or accept it as though it were a fact of life. Calixta and Bobinot’s distinctive roles within their marriage seemed to be switched. As the storm was building, Calixta “felt no uneasiness” (81) about Bobinot and Bibi’s return from the store even though there was a storm coming. One perceives this as representing men’s attitude about their family when they were away from their family. Men had no desire to be reminded of the family that they were away from. Contrastingly, Bobinot and Bibi are concerned about Calixta and how she is going to fair during the storm. Bobinot “sat stolidly” (81) thinking about Calixta while waiting for the storm to pass. Chopin’s use of diction highlights the idea that women were considered thoughtless and stupid individuals. Also, once the storm was over, Bobinot “was the embodiment of serious solicitude” (83) because he was nervous about what the “over-scrupulous” (83) Calixta would say. This illustrates an expectation of perfection that was placed on women no matter the circumstances. Once Calixta seemed to be more concerned with their arrival than their appearance, Bobinot and Bibi were able to “relax and enjoy themselves” (84). Many could…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Storm
    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Storm

    In Kate Chopin's “The Storm” we are presented with a story about an affair. This act of adultery took place between two individuals whom had already been involved romantically in the past. Calixta and Alcee, both who are presently married, were reunited and forced together after many years by the titular storm. Whilst Calixta is at home with her old fling Alcee, her husband Bobinot and son Bibi are out in the storm, and not knowing their whereabouts is making Calixta very worried; putting her in a vulnerable place. Alcee attempting to comfort her brings up old memories, memories that rekindled a suppressed passion from their youth. In the story, Alcee mentions that he was always unable to follow through with his desires for Calixta in the past, but now it was different. They engaged in sex, shortly after the storm ends and they both go on about their day. Everything is normal and unchanged when Bobinot and Bibi return home, the actions that Calixta committed didn’t weight heavily in her conscious.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Real Storm Alcee In The Storm By Kate Chopin
    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Real Storm Alcee In The Storm By Kate Chopin

    Also how Calixta and Alcee act, to how they interact before and after. Calixta and Alcees action affect all the other characters and themselves. The moral of this short story is not to cheat because all it creates is one big storm. Kate Chopin wrote this story up…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Relationship Between Calixta And Alcee In The Storm By Kate Chopin
    • 221 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Relationship Between Calixta And Alcee In The Storm By Kate Chopin

    In “The Storm,” Kate Chopin writes about a rekindling relationship between Calixta and Alcee. This short story is set in the late nineteenth century in Louisiana, and a large storm is developing. Calixta’s family, Bibi and Bobinot, are separated before the downpour, and Alcee’s wife, Clarisse, is in Biloxi along with their babies. Because a cascade is forming, Alcee asks if he could join Calixta until it was over. Of course, Calixta agrees being Alcee was her first love, and she did not want him harmed in the storm. While Calixta and Alcee are waiting for the storm to pass, the climax of the story occurs, which is them making love. The storm is then settled, and Alcee leaves just as Calixta’s family returns. The affair is hidden from their…

    • 221 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    "A Rose for Emily" and "The Storm" Comparison
    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages

    "A Rose for Emily" and "The Storm" Comparison

    In the story “The Storm” by Kate Chopin, Calixta is forced to stay in the house with Alcee because of the rainstorm while Babinot and Bibi are stuck at the store. Calixta was so worried and frightened by the storm that Alcee took it upon himself to comfort her. “She would not compose herself…Alcee clasped her shoulders…” (Chopin 20).They used to be old lovers and this reunion brought back memories. “The contact of her warm, palpitating body…had aroused all the old-time infatuation and desire for her flesh” (Chopin 20). This fascination helped them take their desires to the next level, an affair, all while the storm was hammering down on the house. Once they were through, so was the storm. “He stayed cushioned upon her, breathless, dazed, enervated…” (Chopin 27). And the “growl of thunder was distant and passing away” (Chopin 28). Everything was over, Alcee left and Babinot and Bibi returned home. Everyone’s lives went back to how they were, as if nothing had happened.…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Journal on The Storm by Kate Chopin (Does The Storm excuse the adultery?)
    • 779 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Journal on The Storm by Kate Chopin (Does The Storm excuse the adultery?)

    The storm sets in motion the chain of events that leads to the characters adultery. Do you think the storm excuses the characters in any way from responsibility for their actions?In her short story The Storm, Kate Chopin creates a situation where two people give in to their sexual desire with the help of the outside setting. Although the threatening appearance of the storm does incite the deep rooted emotion; the couple is not excused from their treacherous act since they are well aware of their sin.…

    • 779 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics