The Leaves Were Still That Even Biibi Thought It Going To Rain

1069 Words3 Pages

The actual storm that occurs serves as an ambiguous metaphor for the affair between Calixta and Alcee. The fury of the thunderstorm builds as their desire for one another does, and it ends just as suddenly as it began when their moment of infidelity is over. The first sentence of the story says, “The leaves were so still that even Bibi thought it was going to rain” (342). This is describing the moment of the calm before the storm. It is also describing Calixta and Alcee’s marriages. The stillness of the leaves symbolizes their feelings of entrapment and inability to move forward. There is a tension building, and it so strong that even a child like Bibi can feel it. This tension is hinted at again when Calixta says, “If this [rain] keeps up, …show more content…

The releasing of their sexual desires is just as unavoidable as an oncoming rainstorm. Therefore, it is best to just accept that it is happening and deal with the consequences afterward, whether they are good or bad. In this case, the text argues that the passing of this particular storm is a good thing because everyone is happier in the end. Calixta and Alcee are pleased to have had their needs fulfilled and their families mirror their pleasure even though they are oblivious as to why it has occurred. The important thing is that things have changed for the better and how it happened is not to be thought …show more content…

Calixta interacts with Bobinot without shame and there is no obvious interruption in their familial happiness. Indeed, Bobinot and Bibi are happily surprised by Calixta's pleasant demeanor. Perhaps, then, lifelong monogamous sexual relationships are not necessarily the recipe for happiness between partners in relationships. This is also apparent in the letters between Alcée and his wife Clarisse. Alcée encourages Clarisse to stay away, and Clarisse is more than happy to do so. Chopin writes of Clarisse that "the first free breath since her marriage seemed to restore the pleasant liberty of her maiden days. Devoted as she was to her husband, their intimate conjugal life was something which she was more than willing to forego for a while" (286). Freedom and happiness lie, for Clarisse, in escape from marriage. The intensity and expectations of a marital relationship seem to oppress her, for she even breathes more easily away from her husband. Certainly, she cares for her husband, but Chopin is not suggesting that romantic relationships between men and women be entirely abandoned. Rather, she is calling for the rethinking or even abandonment of an institution that has traditionally cultivated patriarchal notions of gender roles, denied women their sexuality, and oppressed

Open Document