Underneath that surface there is a deeper and a larger meaning. “The Storm” helps to truly tell about the sexual standards and restraints of the late nineteenth century, while at the same time making a statement about humans natural tendency towards our feelings of sexual passion. Chopin begins to illustrate this sexual restraint of the time by titling her story “The Storm. ” In literary terms a storm is associated with conflict, unease, and chaos. She also uses the image of the storm to represent the sexual tension that builds throughout the story between Calcite and Alice.
Chopping title can also be thought of as nature, which is symbolically feminine. The storm in this way can be seen as symbolic of feminine sexual nature and passion that will be mentioned repetitively throughout the story. The illustration of the storm begins with Calcite’s husband. Her husband, Bonito decides to wait out a storm at the general store with their son. Avoiding or waiting out the storm suggests that Bonito also avoids the passions that his wife is very capable of. After this we are introduced to Calcite at home, sewing and doing other household chores.
She s at this point not aware that the storm is coming. This is suggesting that her sexuality is repressed by her marriage and the way society views of women and what they should be doing at home. After Alice and Calcite’s sexual encounter, the storm begins to pass. They are faced with the outcome of what they both have done. However instead of regretting what they had done both of them felt renewed. At the end the storm passed and everyone was happy. As Alice left he turned and smiled, and Calcite laughed, her infatuation is looked upon as natural, without shame or guilt.
She received something from the sexual encounter that she does not receive with her husband. Not only is “The Storm” a story about our natural sexual tendencies, but it also shows the sexual qualms of Chopping time. She herself had to be very much in touch with her sexuality. By writing this story she was able to show how she felt on the subject and also make a statement about what she thought of societies beliefs in that current time period. So this short story was groundbreaking and had many meanings for Chopping time period and even today.