The heart disease as not being a physical condition is once again reinforced at the very end of the story when the author writes, "When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease -- of joy that kills." However, the reader is well aware by this time that she is experiencing despair knowing that her husband is still alive rather than joy upon his return to her life. Likewise, "The Storm" involves a character vs. society conflict. This time the conflict deals with the loss of passion in marriage and is perhaps indicative of Chopin's own extramarital affair. For the reminder of a lost passion, Calixta is visited by an old lover while her lover is away as illustrated by the lines, "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. "My! what a rain! it's good two years sence it rain' like that," After the storm...

One has a tendency to think of the modern-day woman as being very different than those of women in years past. However, Chopin's work, based on her own personal experiences during the 1800's, shows that the challenges of unfilled marriages with issues of repression as well as loss of passion have existing for many years. Indeed, perhaps Chopin wasn't alone in her struggles to survive conventions that denied the realities of circumstance.
Bibliography

Kate Chopin. "Story of an Hour."

Kate Chopin. "The Storm."

"Kate Chopin." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Chopin