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Feminist Analysis Of Kate Chopin's The Storm

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Feminist analysis of The Storm The rise of the Women’s Movement during 1890’s encouraged many to grant all human beings the same fundamental rights despite one's gender. Traditionally, sexual passion, in a woman's aspect of life, was considered inappropriate and wrong in societal views. Yet, Chopin boldly addresses sexual desire in a woman with a strong feminist tone in The Storm, empowering female sexuality. The mere presence of sexual desire in Calixta is a feminist statement itself, as sex was considered out of a woman’s metaknowledge, which is shown as the storm passes by. The thunderstorm is used to illustrate the time span of the sexual encounter between Calixta and Alcee. For example, Calixta’s hesitant behavior ends as the first lightning strikes, her sexual desire grows as the storms roars while progressing and the two depart as the storm ends. Chopin paints sensual images in our minds as she describes the experience along with Calixta’s honesty of enjoying it, making a feminist statement again. Chopin boldly reveals the truths about sexual relationships, targeting those not in a sacred marriage and empowers women to appreciate their bodies and …show more content…

What makes this a feminist statement is that Calixta has no reason to do this as she is not in a unhappy marriage nor does she have genuine feelings for Alcee. From the beginning of The Storm, readers acknowledge Bobinot’s devotion to Calixta as he purchases her favorite snacks and helps in cleaning. This shows there was no brutish husband involved. Since Alcee and Calixta weren't true lovers to begin with, it's clear that the sexual encounter was a purely physical experience. Chopin empowers female sexuality by showing an woman who expresses sexual desire and lacks guilt and a legitimate excuse for the society, like men have been

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“The first breath of adultery is the freest; after it, constraints aping marriage develop- John Updike”. In the short story “The Storm” by Kate Chopin, the main character Calixta is a wife to a man named Bobinot and a mother to a son named Bibi. Calixta presents herself to be saddened and not sexually fulfilled in her marriage. This causes her to commit adultery with another man during a terrible rain storm, and not feeling an ounce of guilt for her

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In the short story “The Storm” by Kate Chopin, the heroin Calixta experienced a sense of freedom due to an affair and the absence of her husband and used symbolism and imagery to convey the emotions throughout the text. Chopin’s stories were very risqué and provocative for their times due to the risks she took such as the independence and sexual freedom of the women. During this time, it was not uncommon for women to be discriminated against in the literary world, and “The Storm” was quite controversial for its content. Calixta had an affair with Alcee, an old love of hers, as her husband and child, Bobinôt and Bibi, left the house. Chopin used the weather to symbolize the internal nature of Calixta as her sexual tendencies were absent or suppressed

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Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” was written in 1898, but it was published until 1969. “Bibi laid his little hand on his father’s knee and was not afraid”(88), shows that whatever is to come will not cause problems. Kate Chopin uses a lot of symbolism throughout her stories to represent her feelings about things. A character or an object could represent a bigger idea throughout the story, which gives more meaning to the story. An analysis of the symbolism in Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” will show the meaning of the storm, the house, and the relationships.

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Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” centers around a woman called Calixta; who has a sexual encounter with a former lover in midst of a storm. The storm centers on lost love and being in unwanted marriages. The raging storm outside the house unfolds simultaneously with the emotional and sexual passion between Calixta and Alcée. Throughout the story, Chopin inverts gender roles, specifically in terms of sexuality. Chopin presents that women should experience desire and act on it, just as men have been allowed to do

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