"The Storm" an essay!

Notes:

Two storms: the literal storm going on that you can see (rain on earth)…. Second storm is the storm between Alcee and Calixta’s passion (invisible) the same way you cannot stop a storm you cannot stop human passion.

· She personifies the storm

· Storm with sinister intent

Chopin’s storm has intent.

· They feel separated

The part in the short story that begins with “her firm, elastic flesh that was…” is about her vagina, not calixta

Chopin dismantles 2 colossal victorian principles:

· Temptation comes knocking on calixta’s door

· Women aren’t ready to engage in sex

· A woman’s anatomy and a woman are separate.

Three kisses:

· Mother and son

· Wife and husband (friendship/concern)

· Affair…fountain kiss

Part one:

C. men had to hold on and they could not wait to touch their woman… the whole thing of temptation in the victorian era

D. A curriculum: all girls were taught how to play the piano, dress, cook, clean very young. They were taught the cult of domesticity. When they got their period all of that teaching came into place when she marries. Basically, a whole bunch of skill sets on how she would grow up and save her man.

F. everything was painted gold… it was a symbol of everything being bold, perfect and godly. It was labeled the gilded age because they saw everything as perfect (gold). Very ironic because not everything was gold and most things weren’t real gold just painted.

Gender rules: women were always dressed and groomed to remind what their man had at home, they couldn’t get “thick” if not their husbands would find a better woman. They would have everything ready for their husbands when they got home so they wouldn’t get tempted during the day and come straight home knowing their wives are waiting for them. (dinner cooked, kids bathed, his clothes waiting for him) Everything had to be perfect! Men were basically tempted all day at work. The days were long and evil. They were tempted with women, drugs, alcohol, bad business.

Sexuality: only for a man’s domain (basically)… believed women weren’t sexual in nature. The anatomy told a story.

Part 2:

B. gives the story a mind and a psyche.