Storms of Life

A detailed Summary of Storms of Life

Kate Chopin, the author of "The Storm", describes how real storms symbolize the storms in our lives. Like a storm, the main character Calixta is quiet, calm, and unthreatening to man. But as her passion and the storm began to brew, they became electric and powerful. In Chopin's time it was rarely acknowledged that women had any sexual desires at all. Women were innocent when it came to this matter. Men were known to stray from their marriages to fulfill their sexual desire, but never a woman. Sexual desire was something only experienced by men. Not only did Chopin recognize that women had these desires, she glorified it and spoke with openness about human sexuality. Chopin explains in her short story how all the events of the storm lead up to an affair between a man and a woman who both seem to be happily married. Chopin tells the story as if what the two lovers did was morally acceptable. Every character at the end of the story was happy, even though the ex-lovers had an affair. The beginning of the storm sets the scene for the beginning of the affair. When the storm breaks loose, so does the passion between the two ex-lovers, and when the storm dies down the two people part and everyone is happy

Chopin gave the opinion that good things came out of a bad situation. Calixta and Alcee satisfied each other physically and emotionally, making them both happier than before. Bobinot and Bibi "began to relax and enjoy themselves", when they sat down for dinner (Chopin 158). They were both happy knowing Calixta was happy. Clarisse was happy to get a loving letter from her husband and to find out she could stay in Biloxi a while longer. Every character in the story lives were fulfilled and they were all much happier after the storm had passed and the affair was forgotten.

again. The storm portrays sexuality as a representative of the forces of nature.

The storm begins to die down and so does the passion between Calixta and Alcee. Chopin ends the story so beautifully saying, "the sun was turning the glistening green world into a palace of gems" (Chopin 157). These words describe a positive attitude towards everything that has happened. Calixta feels no regret toward the affair nor does she fear that her husband will find out. She seems to be happier now than she was before. When Alcee rode away, he turned and smiled at her and she "lifted her pretty chin in the air and laughed aloud" (Chopin 157). When Bobinot and Bibi came back home she began kissing them all over. Bobinot was worried that Calixta might be mad that Bibi got his clothes all muddy but she said nothing of it and acted overjoyed to see that they had returned safely. She acted as if nothing happened and

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1006
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English