The Storm Essay Questions

How does Chopin use the titular storm as an allegory for the sexual relationship between Calixta and Alcée?

The storm doubles as a symbol of passion between the two lovers, and its progress parallels their sexual encounter. In the early moments after Alcée's arrival, when Calixta has to take care of her domestic duties with Alcée looming, their remarks about keeping water out of the house and keeping dry show them isolating themselves from the outside world. Imagery of lightning and descriptions of heat seem to double the intensification of feelings between the two. Lastly, the conclusion of the story—including the many facets of the happy ending—illustrate how the storm provided a unique, exceptional opportunity for the reprisal of the love affair.

How does Chopin highlight Calixta's female sexual experience and what implications does this have? How might this story fit into a feminist literary canon?

Kate Chopin's innovation was to foreground female desire and passion in her literature, making her a unique figure in the American literary scene of the time, which ultimately led to her getting a lot of negative attention in the more buttoned-up moral landscape of the time. The language, imagery, and explication of Calixta's experience as both as a mother and as Alcée's lover throughout the story testifies to this emphasis on specifically female experience. It is especially notable that Chopin does not moralize by punishing Calixta or creating the least bit of trouble in her family life.

Describe the use of local color in The Storm and explain its impact on the story.

"The Storm" is very much so a Louisiana story, even though Chopin was living in St. Louis at the time she wrote the story. She explores the culture of the region by giving her characters unique, Creole names such as Calixta and Bibi, as well as French ones such as Alcée and Bobinôt. Calixta peppers French phrases into her dialog as well, suggesting a multilingual existence, but also adding a touch of the sensuous to the encounter. There's a contrast between the sophisticated love scene that takes place in the house and the down-home, rural atmosphere of the country store where Bobinôt and Bibi sit on barrels and purchase a can of shrimp. Local color in this story seems to sometimes amplify and sometimes contrast with the ethereal nature of the love affair.