Introduction
Kate Chopin wrote The Storm which is a short story in eighteen ninety-eight. The story was however published in nineteen sixty long after she died. The author based the story in Louisiana where the two main actors are Calixta and Alcee. Most of Calixta’s neighbors are of the Catholic denomination. The story’s main theme is sexuality. The main female character thrives in infidelity. It is worth noting that during the time the story was told, adultery was highly condemned in the society. More so, in her neighborhood the religion of choice was Catholic, which restricts sex to two married couples. Chopin also explains that it was unusual to discuss information related to sexual affairs in the public form such as literature.
Analysis
The author presents the story in a narrative form where the narrator begins by describing Calixta as a troublesome wife. This however shifts after Alcee the protagonist sees Calixta for the first time in five years. The description turns to Calixta’s youthful beauty. It is clear here that Alcee holds Calixta in high esteem that cannot be compared to how her husband’s does. Alcee tries to conceal this by claiming that things are not are as they use to be a long time ago now that Calixta had a child. The relationship between Alcee and Calixta was once full of passion that Calixta was missing in her marriage. In the short story, lightning strikes the Chinaberry tree. Symbolically, the tree had links with the church as its berries were used in the making of rosaries. The striking of the Chinaberry tree rekindles memories of passed love in Calixta.
Ironically, following on the same, Alcee embraces Calixta after she fears the storm that accompanies the heavy rains. This serves to relax her nerves a bit then that she was nervous i.e. fearing the storm and at the same time, her marriage relationship that was not rosy. Analysis of the lightning striking the Chinaberry tree can be interpreted from the Catholic point of view to represent Calixta’s sin. At that time, adultery was a sin that earned one an express ticket to hell in death unless one repented before death.
Metaphorically, the shining sun coming after the heavy rain represented a new leaf in the love life of the two lovers. The ending quote in the short story is a clear indicator to the readers that the two lovebirds were happy to engage in love affairs again though not acceptable in the society.
Reaction
Chopin presents the society’s resentment towards adultery as a form of prison. The author in a way is against the roles allocated to women by the society at the time. Calixta’s involvement in extra marital affairs appears to liberate women from the prison. My reaction to this is that Kate Chopin was wrong from the onset. She attempts to wedge war of morality ethics between what the church proscribes and what she considers women freedom i.e. adultery.
In my opinion, the society to which the Catholic Church belongs was interested in making sure that the bond in marriage was strong and moral ethics upheld by the couples. This explained why they regarded adultery as one of the greatest sins. Chopin is contradicting this by calling it confinement. It is not possible that families can hold together if partners in marriage can be allowed to prostitute. It would be wise to develop counseling sessions if families tend to get through murky routes. Though the Storm is a work of fiction, it reflects what happens in the society.