Comparing The Storm 'And I Heard A Fly Buzz'

Over the course of time, humans have developed certain societal standards, ones which must never be broken at any cost. Despite this, nature, being the unstoppable force it is, is often able to defy these standards. This phenomenon is examined in Kate Chopin’s short story The Storm and Emily Dickinson’s poem “I heard a Fly buzz- when I died,” as in them, both authors explore how nature pays no heed to societal customs surrounding marriage and death respectively. Specifically, in The Storm, Chopin describes how human lust leads a woman, Calixta, to engage in an affair with an old lover, Alcee, despite being married. In describing this affair, Chopin only illustrates the more sensual details of the encounter, such as how Calixta’s “breasts they

This implies that Calixta and Alcee’s relationship is borne from lust instead of love, as Chopin never uses diction which suggests that there is genuine love between Calixta and Alcee, instead using words such as “ecstasy” and “breathless” that detail the physical sensations the couple felt during their encounter to describe their affair. Chopin also states that after having sex, the two were “[invited] to drowsiness and sleep. But they dared not yield” (Chopin), proving that even if they are willing to engage in physical intimacy, they won’t engage in emotional intimacy, as they won’t fall asleep together, something that typically occurs only between people who are emotionally bonded. However, although the pair are aware that their affair is seen in the eyes of society as something scandalous and improper, it is one that is inevitable due to the forces of nature. In

Aside from the fly, a slew of mourners are also present at the narrator’s deathbed, as the narrator states that the “The Eyes around [them] - had wrung [themselves] dry” (Dickinson), proving how the mourners, or eyes, around the narrator, are devastated by the narrator’s death, as their eyes are dry from crying. In fact, the narrator’s death is so important that even “the King / [was] witnessed - in the Room” (Dickinson), with “the King” referring to God. This importance humanity, which is represented by the mourners, places on death is similar to that it places on marriage, as in The Storm, Calixta is aware of how her marriage makes her affair all the more scandalous, just as the mourners are aware of the narrator’s death is something monumental and holy. However, just as Calixta disregards her marriage due to her natural lust, the “stumbling fly,” interrupts the solemn mourners around the narrator’s deathbed with its clumsy and bumbling nature. Since the fly represents nature, this suggests that the narrator’s death is not as significant in the eyes of nature as it is in the eyes of humanity, just like nature doesn’t find Calixta’s marriage very important as it is the reason she possesses the instinct which drives