Theme Summary
“The Storm” by Kate Chopin joins the ranks of the most questionable works regarding adulterous behaviors. The theme of morality permeates the plot, with an affair between two married people, Alcee and Calixta, acting as the central event. Being temporarily separated from their spouses, the characters engage in an intimate relationship, keep it a secret from their partners, and even become more caring towards their families afterward. Married people’s inability to withstand passion and refrain from such encounters does not meet society’s definitions of moral excellence.
Despite that, the author avoids any moralizing tone and leaves the interpretation of the characters’ behaviors open to contributions from the audience. Contrary to the typical reader’s expectations, Chopin takes an unbiased approach to moral choices about adultery, depicting extramarital affairs as a fact of life rather than an offense that deserves retribution or condemnation.
Theme Analysis: The Author’s Own Perspective on Adultery
Non-Existent Moral Closure
Analyzing the theme of morality in the short story, it is possible to single out many elements that shape it. These include attempts to anatomize and describe extramarital passion rather than judge the characters for experiencing it or justify adultery as the right choice. Although the piece lacks an unambiguous moral closure and ends with the statement that “everyone was happy,” Chopin’s perspective is far from stating that cheating is acceptable and creates positive outcomes for unhappy marriages (7).
After the affair, Calixta treats his husband more gently than usual, and Alcee sends “a loving letter” to his wife (Chopin 7). However, the author omits thought processes that might have preceded these acts of self-expression (Chopin 7). Specifically, no clear links are drawn between the breach of marriage vows, the characters’ dissatisfaction with their intimate life in marriage, adultery as a way to release energy, or the ability of affairs to promote psychological comfort.
Chopin’s Unbiased Acknowledgement of Adultery as a Phenomenon
The selected theme in the story might imply a connection between morality and the sense of guilt, revealing that the absence of the latter transforms the seemingly immoral acts into happy moments. As their passion intensifies, Calixta and Alcee demonstrate no signs of guilt or concern for their spouses. Calixta is only worried about her husband’s and son’s health, but never verbalizes the moral underpinnings of her actions and quickly surrenders to Alcee as he assures her that “nothing can happen” (Chopin 4). No guilt or the pain of committing an irredeemable mistake appears after their time together.
The sun returns, and the lovers say goodbye “with a beaming face” and happy laughter instead of being shocked or hanging their heads in shame (Chopin 5). Calixta seems to feel as if sex with another man has filled her with joyful energy instead of activating her critical inner voice. Under these circumstances, the immorality of Calixta’s choice remains incomprehensible to her as she does not try to imagine her husband’s reaction to such news. Kate Chopin documents this perspective instead of subjecting it to criticism.
Without demonizing adultery or seeking to normalize and justify it, Kate Chopin seems to treat passion towards someone other than a person’s legal partner as part of humans’ impulsive nature that can hardly be controlled. This perspective is implied in the author’s indirect metaphorical language, such as Calixta’s and Alcee’s intimate encounter paralleled by a thunderstorm. Alcee enters Calixta’s house to wait “till the storm is over,” but no one questions the intuitive truth that storms come and go (Chopin 2). A few lightning strikes occur during Alcee’s first attempts to express his “old-time desire for her flesh” (Chopin 3).
As the lovers are satisfied, the “growl of the thunder” becomes more distant, followed by soft rain that goes away soon (Chopin 5). As a phenomenon that cannot be suppressed by anyone’s willpower and is inseparable from nature, a thunderstorm cannot provoke a serious critical discussion, with people sharing opinions on whether it should exist. Therefore, the adulterous affair and the will of nature are described as the facts of life.
Theme Exploration: Morality and What It Is
The definition and the true meaning of morality represent challenging topics, with moral behaviors being oversimplified, misrepresented as something objective, and reduced to what is approved and regarded as decent according to the majority’s opinion. In “The Storm,” the lovers, especially Calixta, would be ostracized for letting their affair happen and violating the sanctity of marriage, so the thoughts regarding telling their spouses never cross their minds (Chopin 7). Alcee’s wife and Calixta seem dissatisfied with their intimate life with their husbands (Chopin 7). However, none openly question their unions’ necessity, probably out of fear of punishment for challenging their society’s moral fabric.
Morality should be comprehended as one’s ability to distinguish between right and wrong and act depending on these considerations, but this understanding is often replaced with public opinions. Like Chopin’s story, The Collector’s Wife, a 2005 novel by Mitra Phukan, explores adulterous behaviors (Jahari 24). Rukmini, the protagonist, is an unhappily married woman who rarely sees her husband, and there is no close emotional connection between the spouses (Jahari 24). Seeking to develop meaningful connections, she meets Manoj, and the two have an affair (Jahari 24). In Calixta’s case, society would consider Rukmini’s decisions to violate the so-called “conventional morality,” or a collection of social norms imposed on an individual through pressure and control (Jahari 24).
From the majority’s viewpoint, adulterous behaviors are inherently immoral and violate the sanctity of marital unions. Nevertheless, Rukmini may think that her relationships are deprived of anything that could be betrayed, as her union is more formal. Calixta might also place a small subjective value on her marriage when it comes to intimacy. However, society keeps treating morality as an objective category and does not regard such arguments as valuable.
Despite being advertised as an objective category, morality represents a social construct that depends on external circumstances and the majority’s understanding of what should be allowed. Expected to act as a loving and faithful husband, Alcee could be publicly shamed for being intimate with more than one woman. However, in a polygynous society, Alcee’s encounters with two different partners would no longer be immoral if he married both women.
Thus, in an alternative society, his desires could be aligned with society’s expectations of acceptable behaviors, becoming a variant of the norm. If Calixta represented some tribe allowing female promiscuity with foreigners to prevent inbreeding and enhance the community’s genetic diversity, such behaviors would be justified by the majority despite still being an extramarital connection. The aforementioned examples illustrate morality’s flexible and context-specific rather than absolute nature and dependence on the majority’s opinions regarding what should be ostracized.
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. “The Storm (1898).” HCC Learning. Web.
Jahari, Rohit. “The Patriarchal Trap in Mitra Phukan’s The Collector’s Wife.” Drishti: The Sight, vol. 10, 2022, pp. 24-27. ResearchGate. Web.