Compare and Contrast 2 literary works - Research Paper Example

The storm also depicts an adulterous relationship between two ex-lovers. As the storm approaches and progress they engage in an illicit relationship despite the fact that both of them are married. The storm helps in rekindling past coveted memories between the two of them. Alcee maintains in the story that he was not able to follow his aspirations and feelings he had for Calixta. On the other hand, the author, Kate Chopin tries to convey her opinions by means of Calixta. Her character is that of a women who is tied with her husband.

After engaging in an adulterous relationship with Alcee that day, she finds herself happy and refreshed. Chopin tries to convey through this act that marriage is an institution which ties two individuals together and they are not able to obey their own free will. On the other hand, the case with Alcee is somewhat different as he is not with his wife and feels lonely. He feels comforted and soothed and his loneliness disappears after engaging in sex with Calixta. By means of these two principal characters, Chopin tries to depict that having an illicit relationship is not necessarily detrimental. . Also nature has the healing power to modify emotions and feelings of individuals.

This is depicted by the end of the story and is depicted by the following quote, Was it last week the cyclone had well-ruined him? The cyclone seemed a huge joke, now. It was he, then, who, an hour ago was kissing little Calixta’s ear and whispering nonsense into it. Calixta was like a myth, now. The one, only, great reality in the world was Clarisse standing before him, telling him that she loved him” (Chopin 160). This quote further brushes off the impositions posed by morality. According to Chopin, just by bonding in marriage and getting tied up in a relationship may not necessarily depict astute happiness in individuals.

In fact, sometimes straying away from the path may result in satisfaction and comfort, rather than the feeling of guilt which is imposed by the implications of being ethical and moral. The characters of Calixta and Alcee do not experience any guilt by engaging in an adulterous act because they themselves feel freed from all the negative emotions they experienced in marriage. In fact, the adulterous relationship helped them in bouncing back to their respective marriage with happiness and vigour.

This sentence also shows the resignation towards societal rules. Despite having an adulterous affair with Calixta, Alcee returns to Clarisse, his wife as he believes that this is the only socially acceptable relationship. There is another aspect of symbolism depicted in Kate Chopin’s The Storm. This can be seen in her silent symbolism against Catholicism which denotes certain restrictions on gender and sexuality which is forced due to class and religion by means of certain cultural constructs which existed during that time (Wehner, 154). This is