Topic > Major Themes in "The Tempest" by Kate Chopin

In The Tempest we are introduced to Bobinôt and his four-year-old son Bibi for the first time. They are waiting out the storm in a shop while Calixta, the dutiful housewife of Bobinôt and mother of Bibi, is home alone. When he notices the storm coming and goes out to retrieve the clothes on the line, his former apple of the eye. Alcee approaches the house on horseback and asks if she can wait out the storm on the porch. This ultimately leads to a rather unconventional sexual scene, which coincides perfectly with the crescendo of the storm hitting the roof, leaving both parties equally satisfied as they part ways and continue with their individual lives. What unites Calixta and Alcee, in addition to history and mutual attraction, is also the fact that they are similar, in the sense that passion is missing in both marriages. Calixta is not the only one to experience pleasure as never before her passion “penetrated and found response to the depths of her own sensual nature that had not yet been reached”. This shows that Alcee is also unhappy with his intimate life with Clarisse, his wife. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay There are several themes running through Kate Chopin's The Storm. First of all, the roles that society entrusts to us are represented, in this case Calixta inhibits the role of housewife and mother in Part I. We are shown the themes of romantic love and filial love. She is absorbed in her household chores (“sewing furiously”), so absorbed that she doesn't realize that a storm is coming until the sky darkens. This may already be the symbol of the suppression of women as individuals in society; her role as wife and mother is consuming her, leaving little room to explore any other desires or needs she might otherwise have. Part II therefore reflects a revolutionary type of woman for the time in which this story was written, as Calixta is here portrayed as a feminine woman with her own sexual desires and needs; the man's desire for the woman is not the preface to this, as Calixta's "eyes betrayed a sensual desire" mirroring Alcee's "desire for her flesh." Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get Custom Essay The role of (human) nature and morality is a third theme in this tale; It seems that Chopin is condoning this affair, either as a statement in favor of women's sexual freedom and an emphasis on the importance of equality or simply as a reflection on natural phenomena and the fact that it is our human nature to experience and enjoy the sex dating. The fact that their culmination coincides with the crescendo of the storm only further highlights the romantic idea of ​​our connection as natural beings to the natural world; when the intensity of their passion increases, the storm also increases; when the rain stops and the sun turns "the glittering green world into a place of gems," they are at ease and smile at each other as Alcee rides away in Part III. The journey that Calixta undertakes, from fulfilling her assigned social role as a mother and wife to her transformation into an individual, sexual, and natural being, truly shows the influence of the elements of romantic love in this (short) story..