Sexual Tension In The Storm By Kate Chopin

In the short story “The Storm”, Chopin presents the audience with an unfulfilled marriage between the characters Calixta, and her husband Bobinot. The story goes on to detail an extramarital sexual encounter between Calixta and Alce, an old acquaintance, in the middle of a turbulent storm. While Chopin could have approached the story through a traditional lens, she takes quite an unprejudiced stance by not discussing the repercussions of illicit affairs. She does not create her characters to rebel against the institution of marriage, but only objects to the confinement that traditional roles bring.
Chopin uses the image of the storm to represent the building of sexual tension between Calixta and Alce. From a literary perspective, storms typically symbolize conflict, uneasiness, and turmoil. Calixta, working with quite a vigor and frustration, doesn’t know of the approaching storm, similar to her ignorance of her sexual desire. But as the storm …show more content…
Chopin deliberately illustrates Calixta ignoring her sexual desires when she writes, “She felt very warm […] she unfastened her white sacque at the throat. It began to grow dark and suddenly realizing the situation she got up and hurriedly went about closing the windows and doors” (Chopin). The storm serves as a metaphor for Calixta’s growing desire, suggesting that both the tension in the air and the lustful thoughts within Calixta are beginning to manifest physically. The brief description of the brewing storm as being “stiflingly hot” (Chopin) and causing the windows to cloud up establishes a palpable sensuality around Calixta. The storm ultimately symbolizes the release of sexual restraint.
The storm imagery continues throughout the story with storm’s increasing turbulence matching the