Kate Chopin Short Stories

Kate Chopin was an American feminist fiction writer and a woman ahead of her time. She lived in the socially conservative nineteenth-century, but in her stories, she wrote about unconventional characters, particularly women, that caused others to question her morality. Similar to the female characters in her stories, Kate Chopin was an independent woman. She would often smoke cigarettes or walk in the streets unaccompanied; these practices were considered unusual for a nineteenth-century woman to do ("Katherine Chopin"). One critic points out that many of Chopin's stories are characteristic of "independent heroines" and their conjugal relationships (qtd. in Hicks). "The Story of an Hour" and "The Storm" are two of Chopin's feministic short stories that focus on women and their views on marriage. .

"The Story of an Hour," published in 1894, highlights woman self-assertion when the protagonist, Louise Mallard, rejoices after hearing of her husband's death. Unlike most women may have reacted, Mrs. Mallard does not hear the story of her husband's death "with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance," implying that her relationship with her husband was troubled. After all, she is not shocked at the prospect of being alone. On the contrary, she is jubilant once she realizes that she no longer has a husband to impose on her (Hicks). She envisions "a long procession of years that would belong to her absolutely." No longer would she have to sacrifice for her husband. She is "free, free, free!"

Kate Chopin suggests that marriages in the nineteenth-century were male dominated and woman oppressed. In the late nineteenth-century, men held most of the power in marriages. Women were uneducated and were only taught household duties. Young girls learned that women were to get married and have children; therefore, they were raised as wives. In addition, because women were uneducated, each needed a husband for economic support. Perhaps Mrs. Mallard only married because society told her that it was her duty as a woman to do so. Her true feelings of marriage and her husband were repressed, making her feel as if she were a prisoner. However, she would not let anyone know her thoughts because it was expected that she mourn the loss of her husband.

Marriages are mutual relationships, so in reality, neither partner in a marriage has absolute freedom. However, Mrs. Mallard's desire to "live for herself" shows how incompatible she was as a wife. She even reveals that at times she did not love her husband. Of course, in marriages, arguments are commonplace. During an argument, the couple may feel hatred more than they feel love (Berkove "Fatal"). Yet, Mrs. Millard views love as an "unsolved mystery" that is secondary to "self-assertion" which was "the strongest impulse of her being!" The fact that she has no children further illustrates her unfruitful marriage and desire for freedom.

It is curious that Mrs. Mallard is given the name "Louise" only after she realizes her freedom. At first she is referred to as "Mrs." or as "she." The transition shows how Louise eludes her marriage when her husband dies. Reference to her new name now gives Louise hope: "She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long." Yesterday, before her husband's death, she did not wish for a long life; perhaps because she was unhappy with her marriage. However, after news of the death, she had a "triumph in her eyes" and "carried herself...like a goddess of Victory," a new woman, as if she was now emancipated.

Unfortunately for Louise, her husband was indeed alive, and when she sees him, her excitement of renewed freedom and her astonishment of his renewed existence are her ultimate demise. The last line to this tale says that "she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills." Louise's troubled heart was physically and emotionally afflicted; she had a feeble heart which belonged only to her (Berkove "Fatal"). The "monstrous joy" killed her because her excitement level was high but dropped significantly in disappointment at the sight of her husband. Louise was not committed to her marriage, but during that time divorce was rare. To escape the oppressions of marriage, Louise would have preferred her husband dying over getting a divorce.

"The Storm" is another of Kate Chopin's stories dealing with the institution of marriage. The story was written in 1898 but published in 1969 because of its adulterous sex scene that was considered "inappropriate for its time" (Berkove "Acting"). Unlike in "The Story of an Hour," in "The Storm," the wife, Calixta, and her husband, Bobinфt, do not seem to have problems in their marriage. While waiting in Friedheimer's store for the storm outside to pass, "Bobinфt...purchased a can of shrimps, of which Calixta was very fond." Calixta's and Bobinфt's son, Bibi, also "laid his little hand on his father's knee and was not afraid." Bobinфt's actions and relationship with his son show that Bobinфt is a loving husband and father. Calixta's actions at home before the storm also show that she is a caring wife. When she notices that a storm is approaching she "hasten[s] out to gather [Bobinфt's clothes]" that she had hung outside to dry. She is also very worried about her husband and son as she stares out "the window with a greatly disturbed look on her face." Furthermore, one critic of this short story finds that Bibi "symbolizes the marriage and the mutual commitment and trust it should imply" (qtd. in Berkove "Acting"). Yet, why does Calixta have an affair? She may have acted on impulse rather than on thought because the act was not planned.

Back in the nineteenth-century, adultery was considered a crime that destroyed the family, but Calixta seems to feel little regret for participating in this sinful act. She laughs "as she [lies] in [Alcйe's] arms," and she beams and continues laughing as she watches him ride away. When Bobinфt and Bibi return home, Calixta carries on as if nothing had happened. She is "preparing supper" and "express[es] nothing but satisfaction at their safe return," greeting them with kisses. Then the three sit laughing together (Berkove "Acting"). Bobinфt and Bibi are both oblivious to Calixta's adultery, and Calixta is glad that all is well. Calixta may not have loved Alcйe,