Kate Chopin's Works: Expressing Repressed Feelings for Women
Chopin’s stories “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour” both express a fresh and unconventional view of love and marriage. Written during an era in which women were expected by society to devote themselves and their lives entirely to their husbands and children, Chopin’s views were largely ahead of her time. Her views were extremely controversial because they express a woman’s right to revolt against such expectations and live for herself. Essentially, both stories deal with women who are yearning for liberation, whether sexual or individual. “The Storm”, shows a woman who is seemingly happy with her husband and child, yet longs to release her sexual desires which are apparently not satisfied by her husband. “The Story of an Hour” illustrates the life of a woman who feels enslaved by her marriage and wants nothing more than to regain ownership of her life. Through these stories, Chopin reveals women’s need to satisfy their wants and desires, which was never thought necessary for women during that time as they were expected to be selfless and self-sacrificing creatures.“The Storm” exposes that women do in fact have sexual desires that need to be met. The story is set up during a storm, in which
This in itself provoked a great deal of controversy among Chopin’s society. A woman was expected to be totally loyal and committed to her husband, so for a woman to be contented with her husband’s death triggered fury and resentment towards Chopin’s views. Although Louise did in fact love and care for her husband, the lines of her face “…bespoke repression…” It was almost as if she was never really alive until her husband died, “Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.” This conjures up the image of something cold and lifeless regaining life again. This is what Chopin believes happens to a woman when she marries and takes up the duties expected of her by society. While it is unthinkable for people of Chopin’s society to believe this, Chopin thinks it to be “intelligent thought”, implying that society lacks intelligence with respect to this expectation of women. At one point, Louise momentarily thinks to consider society’s view regarding her reaction, “She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.” Again, Chopin completely undercuts what society believes by saying that Louise’s perception is “clear and exalted” while society’s is “trivial.” So Louise easily rejects society’s views and, similar to Calixta’s ability to connect with and reveal all her repressed sexual passions and desires, Louise can finally recognize and seize “the strongest impulse of her being”, her freedom. Through both “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour”, Chopin addresses issues that were very much taboo for her time. In “The Storm” she shows a woman who commits adultery while her son and husband are outside in a violent storm. In “The Story of an Hour” she shows a woman who celebrates her husband’s death. Based on these facts alone, both Calixta and Louise seem to be cold-hearted and selfish women who do not deserve any sympathy. However, they do have our sympathy because they are victims in their society. They are victims to societal e
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Hour” Chopin,
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Approximate Word count = 1460
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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