Chopin's the Storm Not Just a Passing

Chopin's The Storm Not Just a Passing Storm: The Central Role of Setting in Kate Chopin's Short Story "The Storm" Kate Chopin's short story "The Storm" encompasses a brief but intense time period that begins with the gathering of "somber clouds that were rolling with sinister intention" to the passing of the storm, when the "sun was turning the glistening green world into a palace of gems." Therefore, setting serves several functions in Chopin's story: the storm actually drives the plot, as it mimics the protagonist's transformation and also corresponds to her tryst.

For instance, just as the storm arrives and passes quickly, so too does Calixta's brief affair with her old flame Alcee. Furthermore, the setting is not simply a backdrop or an incidental, arbitrary literary element in the story. Rather, the storm comes alive through the author's choice of diction and her style of writing: Chopin personifies the storm so that it almost becomes another character.

For instance, the storm is "sullen," and the thunder "growls." As the main element of setting in the story, the storm also serves a symbolic function, as it represents Calixta's intense, passionate sexuality. As the main theme of the story, sexuality becomes intimately connected to the stormy atmosphere. Although other elements of the story's setting such as the Southern rural surroundings serve a purpose in conveying the theme of sexual tension, the storm leaves an especially indelible mark upon the reader; hence the title of the tale.

Chopin chose the South for the geographic setting of "The Storm" for several reasons. First, the Southern climate is conducive to the types of passing thunderstorms like the one that occurs in the story. Moreover, heat plays an important symbolic role in the setting of the tale as well. The oppressive humid weather that accompanies thunderstorms in the American south causes Calixta to feel lustful. However, setting the story in Louisiana also enabled the author to incorporate the social and political climate into the general setting of the story.

Friedheimer's Store, where Bobinot and Bibi await the passing of the storm, is described as being "wooden." Besides a simple, straightforward description of a ramshackle, rural surrounding, the "wooden store" also symbolizes the stiff, rigid, and worn Southern social ideology. It is out of this type of oppressive atmosphere of heat and old-fashioned morality that Calixta indulges her passions and satisfies what Chopin calls her "birthright." The setting of the story drives the plot and is necessary for Calixta's sexuality to blossom.

Were it not for the storm, Alcee would never have rode to Calixta's house, and Bobinot and Bibi would have been able to promptly return home from the store. Based on her husband and child's perception of her, Calixta had fallen into her proscribed role as wife and mother, probably as unaware of her inner frustrations and sexual tension as the leaves are of the impending rain. The storm, therefore, is integral to the plot of the story, which is why Chopin chose her title.

Furthermore, Chopin devotes most of the tale to describing the storm and then relating it to Calixta. It is as if the author uses the setting of the story to convey her protagonist instead of directly addressing Calixta's emotions. For example, when the narrator states, "The growl of the thunder was distant and passing away," she is not simply painting a picture of the weather. Calixta's sexual frustration and other pent-up emotions were released with the coming and passing of the storm.

At the onset of the story, the mood is sinister; Chopin uses appropriate diction to convey this atmosphere, such as the "sullen, threatening roar." At home, Calixta mainly feels the effects from the heat, even before she realizes the storm is approaching. In fact, it is her sweat, accompanied by the encroaching darkness, that alert Calixta that the storm is approaching in the first place. Heat, darkness, and thunder all have sexual connotations. In fact, the main purpose and literary impact that the storm serves is symbolic.

Storms like the one Chopin describes are nothing if not intense. In many ways they exactly resemble a passionate love affair, especially one as brief as that experienced by Alcee and Calixta. Thunderstorms arise in hot, humid conditions. Heat and humidity are often associated with sex; sex and heat both produce sweating, and sex itself is usually described as being "hot." Moreover, the tense silence that precedes a thunderstorm is similar to human sexual tension.

Chopin illustrates the gradual arrival of the storm in the same way she portrays the arrival of Alcee: both involve a high degree of suspense and tension. Just as "the leaves were so still" before the storm actually arrives, Alcee and Calixta experience several moments of awkwardness when he first enters the house. Furthermore, thunder is an apt metaphor for orgasm and Chopin employs diction that implies both thunder and sexual.