The Storm

“The Storm” is Kate Chopin’s most sexually charged story, and as such is quite exceptional for a work which was written in 1898. It describes a chance sexual encounter between Calixta and her former flame, Alcée, during a heavy storm in Louisiana when her husband Bobinôt and her son Bibi are absent. Chopin’s description of the events of that day is refreshingly modern and free of the stifling morals of the day. The sexual liaison she presents as something inevitable, healthy, and as strong and natural as the storm that is raging outside.