"The Storm" by Kate Chopin

In the short story "The Storm" by Kate Chopin the setting supports the theme; just because you are married to someone it does not mean that you continue to love them. The setting of the story is Louisiana, a place known for violent storms. Storms can disrupt people's lives but they can also bring them together. In Chopin's story a former love comes back into Calixa's life during a storm and causes her to realize that she might not love her husband anymore.

As the storm approaches Calixa is alone in her house because her husband and son are at the store. Calixa noticed that, "It began to grow dark, and suddenly realizing the situation she got up hurriedly..."(334). The sky is getting darker which represents darkness and changes that are about to come. Calixa's former love, Alcee shows up on her porch seeking shelter and the rain, "...beat upon the low, shingled roof, with a force and a clatter..." (334). The two reconnect what was before and while having an affair the rain continues to fall. Eventually the rain stops falling just as Alcee leaves her. It is symbolic that the storm ends when Alcee. After both Alcee and the storm leaves Calixa's husband and son come home. She acts if nothing out of the ordinary happened and they continue to lead a normal life while she has internal unhappiness. She has no love for her husband, only a love for Alcee.

When a storm passes through it leaves behind down power lines, mud and fallen tree branches. Storms change the environment, the setting. After the storm passed, "...the sun turn[ed] the glistening green world into a place of gems" (336). The world is affected by the storm; the family is affected by the storm. Calixa acts as if nothing has happened even though she no longer loves her husband. They go about their lives while Alcee writes a letter to his own wife Clarisse. She responds in the way he wants her to, "...the first free breath since her marriage...devoted as she was to her husband, their intimate conjugal life was something which she was more than willing to forego for a while" (337). Clarisse did not want to come home to Alcee because she did not really love her him. She preferred having fresh air and being in a different setting. He didn't mind the fact that his wife was not coming home right away. The children and her health and enjoyment were more important than his desire to see them again.

Love is a complicated thing, and affairs make things even more complicated. In Chopin's story the setting was a storm coming and passing, like Alcee passing through the lives of Calixa and her family. He made her realize that she did not really love her husband and that being married to someone does not mean that you love them. Alcee's own wife also does not love him, even though he seems to love her. Love can change like the changing winds of a storm. It comes and goes and leaves things and behind.