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Introduction
Kate Chopins short story The Storm depicts an unsuccessful union between the protagonist Calixta and her partner Bobinot. The story describes an adulterous sexual affair between Calixta and a former friend, Alcee, during a storm. Although Chopin explores these issues from a conventional perspective, she adopts a rather unbiased stand by not addressing the consequences of clandestine affairs. That is to say, her characters are not created to fight against the concept of marriage but to express her dissatisfaction with the restriction that traditional norms impose. These norms oppress women while elevating men to the status of infallible. This way, she uses The Storm to show that when pushed too far, women can fiercely reject societys perceived moral fabric.
Main body
The society from which an individual hails has a profound influence on their beliefs and attitudes. People adhere to various beliefs not because they want to but because everyone in their surrounding espouse them, notwithstanding their value. Chopin uses Calixta to describe the retrogressive societal values on marriage and sexuality. Chopin opens the narrative by portraying Calixta as an ordinary stay-at-home parent, going about her daily chores. When she finally sees the coming storm, she rushes to close the windows and take out the clothing that has been drying outside. It is at this point that Alcée, Calixtas a long-time friend, shows up on a horseback, requesting refuge from the storm. Calixta greets him warmly but expresses concern about her husband and child, who have yet to return home. However, her worry is quickly replaced by passion, and she ends up having sex with Alcée. The author describes the hidden desires of Calixta with the help of numerous metaphors. Indeed, unrequited desires between couples almost often lead to sex. (see fig. 1)
The immoral act symbolizes the authors metaphorical use of the storm. Possibly, Chopin depicts the escalation of dramatic chemistry between Calixta and Alce with the picture of a storm. Storms are often used to represent tension, unease, and upheaval in literature. Calixta, laboring with zeal and impatience, is unaware of the impending storm, just as she is unaware of her sexual yearning. I often constrained her at home, performing the usual traditional chores society expected while waiting for her husband. It only takes a slight moral distraction for Calixta to realize that being a stay-at-home parent has suppressed her sexuality. She settles in her role as a wife and ultimately forgets her own sexual expectations as a woman. Chopin shows how unfair it is for Calixta to accomplish her traditional gender roles while her husband fails in his roles. The fulfillment she attains from committing adultery not only highlights Bobinots inability to satisfy her sexual desires but also the stereotype that a womans sacrifices as the home caregiver must be reciprocated through sex. The husbands failure of fulfilling this duty leads her to infidelity.
Chopin attacks society for its continuous fixation on judging righteousness. Alcee says, If she (Calixta) were not an immaculate dove in those days, she would isolate (Chopin 34). Society is not supposed to question her morality: on the contrary, this is not how society would interpret Calixtas actions. Being a woman, society did not expect her to express her sexual desires, at least not openly. This way, Chopin conveys that women also experience sexual desires and, like men, can act upon them without needing permission from moral foundations. Throughout the text, Chopin shows that the concept of righteousness is only used to regulate womens conduct, which results in their having less independence and lack of sexual freedom. Similarly, women have a hard time exploring their desires and lack of space to make choices because they are expected to prioritize other obligations. These obligations are restricted to the home environment and, irrespective of the womans physical state, she cannot give up on them. Put in other words, a righteous woman is portrayed as the submissive type who bows to patriarchy.
The story also emphasizes mens disregard for womens overall wellbeing as long as they can manipulate them to fulfill their immoral desires. The men in Calixtas life show little concern for her welfare, both psychologically and physically. Alcee is only with Calixta because she readily gives him sex, which he enjoys despite being a married man. Alcee has no justifiable reason to be unfaithful to his wife. He only takes advantage of an unexpected incident to explore his manly desires outside his matrimonial bed. Conversely, Calixtas motivations are genuine as Chopin writes, The generous abundance of her passion, without guile or trickery, was like a white flame which penetrated and found response in depths of his sensuous nature that had never yet been reached (11). This quote describes the impact that Alcee has on Calixta the moment they have sex. She is so invested into the illicit affair that she forgets she will bear the moral consequences of her actions if caught, whereas Alcee will be spared. This is because only men could start a divorce no matter the cause during the old times.
Chopin criticizes the construction of a society with sensible arguments. Societal standards and expectations for women and men have led to oppression and unfaithfulness in marriages (Ostman 130). Calixta and the husband are an illustration of what is happening in society. It is unfair that society does not allow women to speak up when facing marriage challenges. It is also worth noting that The Storm mirrors modern society, where men benefit from patriarchy. There is barely any case where women do not perform their duties while men ignore their responsibilities. Society expects women to control their sexual urges while the same is not expected of men. Thus, the fundamental theme is that retrogressive societal values are responsible for gender oppression and unfulfilling marriages. However, Bhattarai (43) argues that it not the authors intention is not to demonize men. Instead, she puts society on the spot for portraying females as vessels without desires and needs. Calixtas reluctance to open up to her husband about her sexual desires manifests this problem because that would constitute indiscipline from a societal standpoint.
The final statement, So the storm passed, and everyone was happy, stresses Chopins position regarding Calixta and Alcées unethical behavior (Chopin 99). The two have been unfaithful to their spouses, but this is evidently not the authors concern. Instead, she treats infidelity as a non-issue considering how Calixta and Alcée react after their act of immorality. On the one hand, Calixta following the storm and maintains an innocent act by the wife, who always stays at home waiting for the return of her husband. On the other hand, Alcée sends a letter to his wife, who is gone with their children, and encourages her to prolong her stay in Biloxi. Both individuals do not disclose their indecency and betrayal of their partners. Thus, as long as the affair remains clandestine, nobody has to know anything because everyone affected is happy with their current circumstances.
The story leaves the reader to determine the protagonists moral compasses. Calixta chose not to tell her spouse about her affair with Alcee, and the latter decided not to tell his partner about his conduct when he wrote her a letter. These actions depict the absence of moral closure in the story. Calixtas and Alcees spouses receive a smack in the face when they have consensual sex, despite not understanding what they are doing. The reader can only conceive of their emotions if they feel terrible for their immoral actions. As Ostman (113) notes, there is little sign in the narrative that Calixta or Alcee feel regretful. This break in the novels plot denotes not just a break in the encounter of the characters, but also a break in the encounter of other individuals.
Ultimately, the readers efforts to assess all persons by a universal moral norm are thwarted by their variation of experience. This technique allows Chopin to neatly wrap up the story. Accordingly, nobody will ever know the outcome of all the events that have just occurred. The mystery surrounding Alcée and Calixta is permanently preserved, dissipating like the storm itself. Overall, it might be claimed that the storm was utilized as an opportunity to indulge in pleasures that females were required to suppress.
Conclusion
Womens freedom and relationship are important themes in The Storm. While society focuses so much on investigating the discipline and attributes of females in the community, men are seldom exposed to such instances and are free to express their individuality. The longing for freedom may devour a person and put them in vulnerable positions. In The Storm, Chopins characters encounter this longing in a variety of scenarios. Calixta wants to be independent in her choice of being around Alcée since she believes the storm is inescapable, which represents her extramarital liaison. Chopin utilizes this desire for freedom to portray how women feel oppressed by their partners control. She challenges marriage and the difficulty that women face in deciding whether to be honest and unhappy, or to be free and joyful.
Chopin explores how it is ethically appropriate to be content without a spouse, but she likewise shows how the desire for more may wreck interpersonal relationships. Undoubtedly, Chopin advocated strongly for women in the nineteenth century. Her prolific characters conflict feelings for their needs, yearning for independence in their male-dominated era. The physical and emotional limitations of their spouses all serve vital roles in her message on societal ethics and how human attachments weaken. In the end, Chopin suggests that if society has permitted women to express their feelings and sexual status, infidelity may not be rampant.
Works Cited
Allen, Wayne. Understanding and Opening up to Desire. Complete Wellbeing, Web.
Bhattarai, Maheshwar. Portrayal of New Woman in Selected Stories from Dream Vision and Realities. 2019. Tribhuvan University. Thesis. Web.
Chopin Kate. The Storm. Short Story Press, 2005.
de Deus Rocha, Vanessa. A Comparative Study between the Female Characters in the Storm and the Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. Grau ZeroRevista de Crítica Cultural, vol 6, no. 1, 2018, pp: 59-73.
Ostman, Heather. Kate Chopin in the Twenty-First Century: New Critical Essays. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020.
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