Literary Analysis of “The Storm” by Kate Chopin

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Literary Analysis of “The Storm” by Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Storm,” is based on a single-day affair between a lonely housewife (Calixta) and the man (Alcee) she had desired in the past. Calixta and Alcee were former lovers. Whereas love remains one of the primary reason individuals marry, it is not the only one. Couples decide to commit to their respective marriages since it serves their wants and supports their dreams and values. Women have different roles within the marriage context. As a wife, a woman is expected to serve her husband, preparing his clothing, food, including other personal needs. As a stressed and overworked wife, Calixta could briefly avoid her stifling roles and societal expectations by cheating on her husband with Alcee. Given that Calixta slept with Alcee despite being a married woman, it appears that she was unsatisfied sexually and had little love for her husband. This literary essay argues that Alcee and Calixta’s actions can be justified since their affair supports and creates the organic unity highly dictated by a greater force than their free will.
The real storm that happens serves as an ambiguous metaphor for Alcee and Calixta’s affair. The thunderstorm fury builds as their desires do, and it ended abruptly as it had started when their infidelity moment is over (Bodenmiller 1). The story’s first sentence notes, “The leaves were so still that even Bibi thought it was going to rain” (Bodenmiller 1). This delineated a calm moment before the thunderstorm event. In that vein, it can be inferred that the storm constituted an unusual event for the thunderstorm to happen in Calixta’s serene Louisiana urban center. For instance, Calixta exclaimed, “My! What a rain! It’s a good two years since a rain like that,” as she rolled a bagging piece on the door to keep the water out (Chopin 2). The context surrounding Alcee and Calixta’s encounter was unique to occur frequently. The primary rationale for such circumstances within the setting to be designed in such an unfamiliar way implied that there should have been a more powerful force acting to bring the characters together. Although neither Alcee nor Calixta had planned the occasion, an “old-time infatuation and desire for her flesh” arose when Alcee simply touched Calixta (Chopin 3). The unusual context brought the two together, whereas their lust for each other influenced their actions, putting them in a vulnerable position. Both Alcee and Calixta are in loving marriages. Still, when they found themselves in unusual circumstances, they were susceptible since human nature sometimes constitutes a more substantial power than the individual’s free will.
Alcee and Calixta’s socially unacceptable behavior could be linked to the inherent sudden violent storm. Chopin creatively placed two storms happening concurrently in the story, prompting it to seem like a more significant power generates both storms. Whereas lightning strikes and thunder roars, Alcee and...