ipl-logo

Mirror Calixta's Sexuality In The Storm By Kate Chopin

499 Words2 Pages

In Kate Chopin’s 1898 short story, “The Storm,” the author uses a storm as a metaphor to mirror Calixta’s sexuality. In the 19th century creole culture, women were sexually oppressed under male dominion. During a climactic storm, Calixta has an emotional storm of sexual passion with Alcee. In the Creole culture, wives are expected to remain faithful and be submissive to their husbands, but their husbands could have affairs. In this short story, Calixta goes against the Creole culture and has an affair with her past lover, Alcee. They had a strong passion for each other, but they could not marry because of their cultural differences. Alcee and his wife Clarisse are Creoles,and Bobinôt and his wife Calixta are Acadians. The Creoles are comparatively wealthy, usually as landowners or merchants. The Acadians are usually much poorer, living off the land and working for the Creoles. Calixta and Bobinôt talk like the Acadians who lived in Louisiana during the 1890s, and language is a rich combination of French and English. Alcée uses less dialect, though he understands Calixta's French. …show more content…

The nature storm serves as a metaphor for Calixta’s sexual storm that is beginning to manifest. Calixta became very warm and started to perspire realizing that a raging storm was brewing outside. She went out to close up the house and gather up the clothes when appeared Alcee, a former lover. The storm has forced Alcee to take shelter at Calixta’s house. Calixta and Alcee have an adulterous affair. Calixta tears down her restraint and reveals the desire within. Just as this climactic storm dies down so does the passion. As the storm begins to pass as the story nears its end, taking with it Alcee and the affair. Calixta’s marriage to Bobinot may have lacked the passion that she needed and she is able to explore her sexuality. Calixta feels liberated after having the affair with

Show More
Related
539 Words | 3 Pages

Dmitri had scores of women in his past who loved him and still he said, " There had been all sorts of things between them, but never love. In "The Storm" by Chopin Calixta is seen being married for security and to keep her good name. In this short story, it is believed that Calixta is not in love with her husband but rather Alce. She married her husband because there was no other option and though he was not who she imagined herself with him he offered protection and he loved her.

Read More
797 Words | 4 Pages

Everyday people are judging and being judged by others with unique criteria that we, as inhabitants of Earth deem necessary checkmarks to be met to afford and be afforded tokens of civility. In Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “The Myth of the Latin Woman” the memoir is brimming with personal accounts of fetishiztation and discrimination the author experiences as a Latin woman that have vast influence on her life. Throughout the text Cofer conveys the significance of how deep the status “exotic” to describe Latina women is held inside the minds of people which the author alludes to on page 879, “I thought you Latin girls were supposed to mature early,” [1] after being given a sudden, non-consensual kiss at a dance by her date. The author expresses the cultural dissonance between

Read More
1743 Words | 7 Pages

In this context, the storm symbolizes the slowly growing build-up of emotions in Calixta’s life and, in turn, her unawareness of them until they finish manifesting. Calixta’s attempt to physically ‘close’ herself off from the storm further represents how she tries to confine her feelings to herself; which Chopin utilizes to highlight Calixta’s growing mental confinement. Continuing with the theme of imprisonment, Chopin illustrates Calixta’s dedication to her family in order to emphasize her

Read More
1245 Words | 5 Pages

On the other hand, The Storm’s narration is that of 3rd person omniscient. The reader is not able to get into the thoughts and feelings of Calixta. Although they are there when Calixta is worried about her husband and child being stuck in the storm and when she is being pleasured by Alcée, they do not feel those emotions with her “She was a revelation in that dim, mysterious chamber; as white as the couch she lay upon” (Chopin 2). Giving the reader the ability to experience Ellen’s emotion versus just having the reader there while Calixta is with her lover is what makes the narration of The Jilting of Granny Weatherall create such a believable

Read More
441 Words | 2 Pages

Calixta meanwhile differs and even though she appears to love her husband, she is unfaithful to him with her ex boyfriend Alcee. Both the women want to obtain freedom, although to a different degree. Louise Mallard is looking forward to long-term freedom from her husband, while Calixta only seems interested in a brief moment of freedom

Read More
859 Words | 4 Pages

Essay 3 Unfulfilling Marriage The Storm written by Kate Chopin takes place on a stormy day, with a cyclone approaching. Calixta sat upon a sewing table diligently sewing while her husband Bobinot and son Bibi went to the Friedhelmers store. Bobinot watched as the storm and using his conceses Bobinot decided to stay at the store to keep out of the storms path. Back at the home, Calixta was rushing to prepare for the storm, Alcee a towns man, came riding up asking for shelter until the cyclone passed.

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

One of the main themes in At the ‘Cadian Ball is forbidden love because Calixta and Alcée natural love each other, but they cannot be together. For example, the author writes, “There is Bobinôt looking for you. You are going to set poor Bobinôt crazy. You’ll marry him someday; hein, Calixta?” (431).

Read More
1221 Words | 5 Pages

Love Conquers Lust and love are very different things but they are commonly confused. Kate Chopin’s “At the ‘Cadian Ball” and “The Storm” are centered in the nineteenth century in Louisiana. Although they both have the same main characters the two stories are mainly about Alcee and Calixta’s relationship with one another. These stories are about Calixta and her confusion over her feelings for Alcée, but in the end love conquers. Belonging mostly to the lower class, Cajuns have always had a conflict relation to the upper class formed mostly of Creoles(Guarino, Sabrina) which is seen in the distaste Bobinôt has for Alcée in the first story “At the ‘Cadian Ball” .

Read More
157 Words | 1 Pages

In the story Chopin implies adultery is natural and does not always have negative consequences. In fact Chopin tell us how both Alcee and Calixta’s marriages benefits from this adulterous act. Given the freedom to satisfy their needs, they are more content toward their spouse. Both their physical needs are satisfied, so they are emotionally generous in their marriage. Calixta, who would normally be upset with her husband and child for bringing dirt into the house, welcomes them with nothing but satisfaction at their safe return.

Read More
834 Words | 4 Pages

In the 19th century, a group of people launched the suffrage movement, and they cared about women’s political rights, their property and their body liberty. Born in that age, Kate Chopin was aware of the importance of setting an example for those who were taken in by the reality and poor women to be an inspiration. So we call her a forerunner of the feminist author for every effort she put in advocating women’s sexuality, their self-identity and women’s own strength. When people were ashamed of talking about sexuality, Kate Chopin stood out and call for women’s sexual autonomy.

Read More
85 Words | 1 Pages

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

Read More
513 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
388 Words | 2 Pages

The text we have read this term that for me explored nature in the most interesting way was definitely The Storm by Kate Chopin. As referred to in the title Chopin used a storm as the basis of the story. A dramatic affair story which I personally believe that would not have the same drama atmosphere without the storm. The story begins with Bobinot and his son Bibi in a store ready to go home when they realize that a storm is approaching so they decided to wait until it passes.

Read More
1628 Words | 7 Pages

Never before had a woman dared to express sexuality and sexual freedom in the way she did with Edna, the main protagonist, who lived an independent life outside of her husband and patriarchal society. “In a time when women’s roles were changing, Chopin’s characters found themselves questioning conformity and duty versus freedom and personal identity” (“The Awakening” 56). Chopin directly transferred issues from her time and life to the pages of the novel in order to give a realistic sense of how these Creole women lived and felt. From a twenty-first century point of view, it is challenging to imagine how serious the nature of these restrictions placed on women truly was. Men published behavioral guidelines to inform women of their roles: “Let nothing, but the most imperative duty, call you out upon your reception day.

Read More
1043 Words | 5 Pages

Themes in “The Storm” Kate Chopin was an American author that wrote many stories that are based in Louisiana. She bases most of her work on women’s movement of the nineteenth century. One of Chopin’s prevalent stories called “The Storm”, focuses on the expectation of women’s marriage in the 1800’s. This story demonstrates numerous significant elements that give the reader a sense of what is going on throughout the story.

Read More

More about Mirror Calixta's Sexuality In The Storm By Kate Chopin

Open Document