Kate Chopin The Storm Literary Analysis

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“The Storm” The wind is picking up, the storm is coming. Husband and son still out there nowhere to be seen. It is time to shudder up the windows, one can only hope for the best now. Just as sudden as the storm, a familiar face appears at the doorstep, a past lover. Why not have someone to accompany one through such a storm, to pass the time with. In the short story “The Storm,” the author Kate Chopin is trying to send the message, that the act of adultery does not always end with a negative consequence. In “The Storm,” Author Chopin brings the idea that adultery can happen without consequence. Just like how the rain and storm rolls through without warning, the idea that sex can happen naturally and just as strong as the forces of nature can be interpreted. In Act II, Chopin writes, “Her white neck and a glimpse of her full, firm bosom disturbed him powerfully. …show more content…

In “The Storm,” Calixta and Alcee, after their night together, departs from each other as if nothing happened, just like how the storm subsides. Feeling good about themselves after, both say their farewells with smiles and laughs. This is shown in comparison to the aftermath of the storm, with the line, “The rain was over; and the sun was turning the glistening green world into a palace of gems. Calixta, on the gallery, watched Alcee ride away. He turned and smiled at her with a beaming face; and she lifted her petty chin in the air and laughed aloud.” (108) The storm represents the affair and the act of adultery, while the reemerging sun represents the departure of the affair and the entrance back into their individual lives. Chopin wants readers to see the relation of Calixta’s and Alcee’s farewell to the subsiding storm. With this scene, an idea is sent to the readers, that just as the sun reveals the green gem known as earth once again after the storm, Calixta and Alcee both reveal their independent lives again with smiles and

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