Kate Chopin's The Storm And The Story Of An Hour

Kate Chopin

Where do authors get their inspiration? Many authors use their own experiences to influence their works. Some do it to fight for something they truly believe in, while others might do it subconsciously. Writers can get their inspiration from their upbringing, setting, or even traumatic experiences. For instance, Kate Chopin, raised in an unconventional Louisiana family, went against nineteenth century and used her own life experiences to symbolize her feminist views in stories like “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour.”
Katherine O’Flaherty, later Kate Chopin, was born in St. Louis, Missouri on February 8, 1851. Was born to stable and publicly known parents, Eliza and Thomas O’Flaherty. Eliza O’Flaherty was of French-Creole…show more content…
It is only when Calixta initially starts to feel discomfort and tension that the storm progresses. The storm overall is brief, just like their affair. Ironically, as soon as the affair was over and Alcee leaves, “the sun was turning the glistening green world into a palace of gems” (Chopin, “The Storm” 415). Even their actions reflect the day itself. In the beginning, there is tension, then sexual fulfillment, and ultimately happiness and satisfaction, as is reflected at the end when the sun comes out. Afterwards they even feel happier, with no shred of guilt or regret. They also are more understanding towards their families, as seen through their actions. For example, when Bobinôt and Bibi came back they were greeted with kisses instead of arguments. Bobinôt and Bibi were not used to this treatment, after all Bibi had come back dirty. However, neither her husband nor son suspected anything, so, instead, they “began to relax and enjoy themselves” (Chopin, “The Storm” 416). Moreover, at the dinner table, “when the three seated themselves…they laughed much and so loud that anyone might have heard them as far away as Laballière's” (Chopin, “The Storm” 416). As for Alcee, he wrote his wife a love letter of “tender solicitude,” even encouraging her to take a longer vacation (Chopin, “The Storm” 416). Therefore, in the end, the affair helped their marriages, as opposed to damaging them. As the ending states, “So the storm passed and everyone was…show more content…
She is the epitome of a feminist. Through her writing, she was able to give a voice to women that felt trapped in their marriages and in society. The fact that she was able to draw from her own experiences to mold her characters made her works even stronger. Both “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour” liberate women from the constraints of society and marriage, while simultaneously drawing from Chopin’s own life.
Work Cited
Chopin, Kate. “The Storm.” Lives Through Literature: A Thematic Anthology. Ed.
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” The Complete Works of Kate Chopin. Ed. Per
Seyersted. Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 1969. 352-354.
Skaggs, Peggy. Kate Chopin. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1985.
Toth, Emily. Unveiling Kate Chopin. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1999.
Davis, Sara deSaussure. “Kate Chopin.” Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 12:
American Realists and Naturalists (1982): 59-71. Literature Resource Center.
Gale. Pace Univ., Mortola Library. 3 Mar.