In addition to freedom, Chopin boldly addresses a woman’s sexual desire in her short story “The Storm.” Chopin maintains a non-judgmental stance throughout this unique female sexuality story. This story is about a sexual encounter between Calixta and Alcée, in the midst of an intense storm. At the beginning of the story Calixta is deep into the roles of a wife and mother. She seems to be a bored woman, confined to her duties as a housewife and mother. Whenever the storm is approaching, she is not aware and ignores it. Symbolically, one could argue that she is ignoring some part of herself or a force by ignoring the storm. She is unaware that her role as a wife and mother is beginning to consume her life. Chopin displays how women had restrictions
…show more content…
They both express the attitudes of two women’s reawakening and liberation. Calixta and Mrs. Louise Mallard both struggle to find their independence while being in a life long commitment. These women are married, but are not completely happy and satisfied in their roles. Calixta, although she shows no signs of being unhappy in her marriage, is much happier after breaking the promises of marriage and having an affair with Alcée. This indicates that the boundaries of marriage were restricting for her, and she felt more fulfilled and content stepping outside of those boundaries. Mrs. Mallard, too, felt restricted by marriage; she did not have an affair, but when she learned of her husband’s death, she was filled with joy and a sense of freedom from marriage. One major difference of these two characters is that Calixta actively breaks her marital vows to find happiness, whereas Mrs. Mallard does not realize she is unhappy until her husband dies. Calixta is very hands-on in seeking happiness; whereas, Mrs. Mallard discovers it by accident. In these stories, the plot is significantly different, but the overall theme is similar in that women are important individuals and they should be able to live a happy and free life. Chopin exemplifies feminism throughout both of these stories in divergent ways, even though she did not consider herself an active …show more content…
Although Chopin’s career was shortly lived due to her early death in 1904, she left a legacy and inspired other women to stand up for themselves. She incorporated the issue of women’s rights throughout her stories by representing women in a less than conventional manner, with individual wants and needs. Her bold expression of women’s independence was not celebrated until many years later. In many ways Chopin was considered a woman before her time. Kate Chopin’s sexual identity influenced the creation of her two stories “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm” because she could understand what other women were going through since she was a woman. She did not have to assume or try to put herself in their shoes. Though she might not have gone through the same experiences as Mrs. Mallard or Calixta, her being a women enabled her to accurately put these experiences into words. Although these stories were not based on real life experiences, the underlying tone was prevalent in society during the time it was
They both express the attitudes of two women’s reawakening and liberation. Calixta and Mrs. Louise Mallard both struggle to find their independence while being in a life long commitment. These women are married, but are not completely happy and satisfied in their roles. Calixta, although she shows no signs of being unhappy in her marriage, is much happier after breaking the promises of marriage and having an affair with Alcée. This indicates that the boundaries of marriage were restricting for her, and she felt more fulfilled and content stepping outside of those boundaries. Mrs. Mallard, too, felt restricted by marriage; she did not have an affair, but when she learned of her husband’s death, she was filled with joy and a sense of freedom from marriage. One major difference of these two characters is that Calixta actively breaks her marital vows to find happiness, whereas Mrs. Mallard does not realize she is unhappy until her husband dies. Calixta is very hands-on in seeking happiness; whereas, Mrs. Mallard discovers it by accident. In these stories, the plot is significantly different, but the overall theme is similar in that women are important individuals and they should be able to live a happy and free life. Chopin exemplifies feminism throughout both of these stories in divergent ways, even though she did not consider herself an active …show more content…
Although Chopin’s career was shortly lived due to her early death in 1904, she left a legacy and inspired other women to stand up for themselves. She incorporated the issue of women’s rights throughout her stories by representing women in a less than conventional manner, with individual wants and needs. Her bold expression of women’s independence was not celebrated until many years later. In many ways Chopin was considered a woman before her time. Kate Chopin’s sexual identity influenced the creation of her two stories “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm” because she could understand what other women were going through since she was a woman. She did not have to assume or try to put herself in their shoes. Though she might not have gone through the same experiences as Mrs. Mallard or Calixta, her being a women enabled her to accurately put these experiences into words. Although these stories were not based on real life experiences, the underlying tone was prevalent in society during the time it was