Feminism In The Storm And The Awakening

Kate Chopin wrote “The Story of an Hour” in 1894, “The Storm” in 1898, and “The Awakening” in 1899. She uses these three stories with a feminist point of view. Chopin uses the main characters of these stories to explain feminism in the late nineteenth-century. “The Story of an Hour” illustrates a woman who was restricted and has hardships due to her marriage. After being faced with a tragic death, the woman becomes enlightened and begins to feel freedom. “The Storm” illustrates a woman who had an affair with her lover while her husband and son was stuck in a storm at a store. After her lover recognizes her for the first time in five years, the description shifts to her youthful beauty. “The Awakening” illustrates a woman who has an affair and …show more content…
The two decide to remain at the store until the storm is over. Calixta is too occupied with her sewing that she does not notice a storm is coming. Once she realizes a storm is coming, she shuts the windows and goes outside to retrieve the clothes from the clothesline. Alcée who is Calixta’s former lover, “rides his horse under the shelter of a side projection where the chickens had huddled” (153). As the storm gets worse, Calixta allows Alcée to come in until it breaks. Calixta walks to the window, observes the intensity of the storm, and worries about her husband and son. Alcée tries to comfort Calixta and begins to think about the desire they once felt for each other. The storm increases as well as the desire of the two former lovers. Alcée cannot take it anymore and brings up the desire and love they once shared. The two have an affair and just as they finish so does the storm. Her husband and son return and she immediately hugs them. The three of them sit down to dinner and “laughed much and so loud that anyone might have heard them as far away as Laballière’s” …show more content…
It was eleven o’clock when Mr. Pontellier returned from Klein’s hotel because of his brokerage business (7). He woke his wife up and Edna never answered any of his questions. After midnight, she goes outside, sits down in the wicker chair, and hears “the hooting of an old own in the top of a water-oak, and the everlasting voice of the sea” (8). It was known that Edna was not a mother-woman (10) but her friend Adèle is. Adèle is a Creole and through her relationship with Edna, Edna learns about expression and freedom. When Edna learns about her freedom, she releases her before behavior and repressed emotions and desires. The friendship between the two begins Edna’s process of “awakening” and self-discovery. Edna then meets Robert Lebrun. Robert is known as a man who chooses one woman each year to sleep with all summer. At first, Robert and Edna’s relationship is innocent but then the affection grows between the two. Robert makes her feel more alive than ever before. Edna becomes more aware of her independence and sexuality because she able to have an affair without her husband noticing. Whether she is with Robert or without him, Edna finds joy during her moments of freedom. Lèonce begins to worry about his wife and seeks professional help by Doctor Mandelet. The doctor suspects that Edna is having

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Feminism In The Storm And The Awakening

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