Emotional Imagery within "The Storm"

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Throughout Kate Chopin’s short story “The Storm,” readers see how the storm acts as a catalyst to the love affair between the main characters. It causes all of the events in the story to happen through perfect timing and perfect placement. She uses imagery through the storm to express the underlying feelings and emotions behind each characters thoughts; this is what makes the story so intriguing. I am going to focus on the two main characters Calixta and Alcee in this story since they are the ones that are affected by the storm the most. For an overview of background information: Alcee and Calixta are long lost lovers from awhile back that just happen to meet up again on a random stormy day coincidently through several moments of luck. The catch is that both of them are now happily married with kids to separate people, and they seem to still have some sexual tension between them. The imagery used to portray this epic and forbidden love escapade is deep, perfect for the mood of the short story.
Calixta is married to Bobinot and they have a son named Bibi, and they all live in a house outside of town in the countryside. Chopin portrays this family as good ole southern people who are genuine and happy, but that is not the case. The storm is used as a sign of how Calixta and Bobinot’s relationship is struggling and how neither one can seem to be satisfied. Calixta knew there was a storm coming, but did she worry about her son and husband at all? No, of course she didn’t, because she had someone else on her mind. She tried to express her feelings of worry to Alcee when the author writes, “’If only I knew where Bibi was!’ She would not compose herself; she would not be seated (559).” Even here, Calixta tries to portray how worried she...

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... know how to react because Bobinot is not the man she is in love with.
Kate Chopin did a wonderful job portraying imagery throughout the storm and the different characters and their emotions. Ultimately, Calixta is looking for a man who is adventurous, but her husband is vapid and a bore; so their relationship will never flourish. Chopin did it in a way that made you think and look at the underlying factors and clues of the story; which is what makes it so great. This story would not be much without the imagery because it would just be a regular affair, but the use of the storm in relation to the emotions that were being created, made for a perfect short story.

Works Cited

Baym, Nina, Arnold Krupat, Robert S. Levine, and Jeanne Campbell Reesman. "The Storm." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th ed. Vol. C. New York, NY: Norton, 2012. 557-61. Print.

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