The Storm by Kate Chopin 1898
In The Storm, the setting is the crucial and pivoting point in how the story unfolds. Without the element of the storm in the story, the actions that Calixta and Alcee Laballiere took would of not occurred. The setting is significant because as the storm begins to intensify, so does the sexual tension between Calixta and Alcee. When we are first introduce to Calixta's character "she was greatly occupied and did not notice the approaching storm" (99). She had not yet reliazed how strong the storm was getting and her emotions and adrenaline were still in tact. The storm starts to intensify and she realizes the potential severity of it; when Alcee enters the home, both of their sexual frustration plays out as the storm begins to fall upon the town. Chopin writes, "The contact of her warm, palpitating body when he had unthinkingly drawn her into his arms, had aroused all the old-time infatuation and desire for her flesh" (101). Calixta and Alcee would of not had cheated on their spouses if the weather that day would of been sunny, cloudy, dusty, windy etc. When the storm was over so was the intensity of their sexual encounter. The intensity of the storm provided them with an adrenaline that caused them to have an affair.
Friedheimer's store
Minus the truck, I picture Friedheimer's store to look old and somewhere all the locals go to get their groceries. I picture this town to be small and the locals only being able to rely on limited places they can go to. Chopin writes, "Then he returned to his perch on the keg and sat stolidly holding the can of shrimps while the storm burst. It shook the wooden store and seemed to be ripping great furrows in the distant field" (99). This store is more like an old family tradition; it has been there for so long, it is more like a daily routine. This image fits the story because the way the story unfolds lets me to believe that the time and period is not recent, but it is a time period of the past.
The Storm
This is the storm itself; this storm had to be so intense to the point that it allowed for Calixta and Alcee to have an affair. Chopin states, "It began to grow dark, and suddenly realizing the situation she got up hurriedly and went about closing windows and doors" (99). The clouds overcasted the sky therfore set the atmosphere and setting for what was about to take place. Without the storm, Calixta would of not have been on edge wondering where her child and husband were keeping safe. That anxiousness casued by the storm led her to committ adultery. Say it would of been just another sunny say, those emotions running high would of not been the same. The storm fits the story not just because of the title, but because the storm is the catalyst for what happened between Calixta and Alcee.
Old House (Calixta's Home)
I picture this to be Calixta, Bobinet, and Bibis home. It would be the perfect setting for Calixta and Alcee's enounter and it is secluded from the rest of the town. They're left to their own decives and this type of home and atmosphere would provide them with comfort because it is large and isolated. Picture the blue sky, dark and gloomy and you have yourself a sexual encounter with two old lovers. This home fits the story because it provides the character with a motive and place to act upon their feelings.
After the Storm
This is the imagine I picture after the storm has passed and povides a new found clarity. Chopin writes, "The rain was over; and the sun was turning the glistening green world into a palace of gems " (102). It seems though as if the calm after the storm provided both Calixta and Alcee a new found outlook on their marriage. They both at the end have a different approach on how to work on their marriage. For Calixta is to be less overscrupulous and for Alcee to be more understanding. The sun glistening is a form of a new start for their marriages.
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