Sexuality In The Storm By Kate Chopin

Feminine Sexuality and Passion in Kate Chopin's The Storm

In Kate Chopin's short story The Storm, the narrative surrounds the brief extramarital affair of two individuals, Calixta and Alcée. Many critics do not see the story as a condemnation of infidelity, but rather as an affirmation of human sexuality. This essay argues that "The Storm" may be interpreted as an affirmation of feminine sexuality and passion as well as a condemnation of its repression by the constraints of society.

If one is to attempt to interpret The Storm, it becomes necessary to examine the conditions surrounding the story's genesis. The story was written in 1898, very shortly after Chopin had completed "The Awakening", "the boldest treatment

Chopin's title refers to nature, which is symbolically feminine; the storm can therefore be seen as symbolic of feminine sexuality and passion, and the image of the storm will be returned to again and again throughout the story. At the beginning of the tale, which is divided into five sections, Bobinôt and his young son Bibi decide to wait out a rapidly approaching storm at the store. Bobinôt's wife, Calixta, is home alone, tending to the household chores. The second section begins with Calixta being unaware that a storm is

The line seems to be interjected haphazardly into the story: "So the storm passed and everyone was happy" (p212). There is a purpose in the ambiguity of the ending, however; it allows Chopin to create an ending that unifies her central theme. Throughout the narrative, she presents feminine sexuality through the imagery of the storm. Her protagonist is unaware of the sexuality within herself, and it is only by casting aside the constraints of society and marriage that she is able to know her true birthright, feminine sexuality. Chopin is not arguing that one can only acheive this knowledge outside of marriage, but rather that it can only be acheived in the absence of societal constraints; her unreserved portrayal of feminine sexuality would have been seen as a radical affront to the society of her time. The ending is therefore purposefully ambiguous: one may see the storm's passage as implying a happy ending, or one may see it as implying that the storm will eventually return, perhaps with the intent to destroy. Kate Chopin, however, sees feminine sexuality as something that is pure, natural, and very real in its existence; one cannot assume that a brief and limited awakening that passes like a storm will be enough to make one