Literary Analysis Essay on The Storm & The Story of an Hour

Introduction

In the short stories The Storm and The Story of an Hour, two distinct women possess similar characteristics. The two short stories present married couples in diverse situations. Some of the characters from The Storm include Bobinot and the son, Clarisse, Alcee, and the wife and also Calixta. As for The Story of an Hour, the characters are Brently and Louise Mallard, Richard, who is a friend to Brently and Josephine's sister to Louise. Although the same author has written both of the short stories, they have several differences characterizing them (Mayer 95). Where else the central theme in The Storm is secret adultery in marriage, The Story of an Hour's theme is the secret of joy a woman feels upon her partner's death. However, both writings have some common aspects between them. Below are a comparison and a contrast analyzing both writings with some help from some literary elements like setting, theme as well as dramatic irony.

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Setting: Spring

The setting is vital in both of the writings since it provides meaning to the short stories. It can be seen that the development of the two writings takes place during spring, with the only difference between the setting been of a more significant storm and rain in The Storm. In this short story, Bobinot, the husband to Calixta, is outside with their son Bibi as the storm happens while his wife Calixta is at home during the storm. It was during the storm when Calixta committed adultery with Alcee, and Alcee leaves their house after the storm has passed. Soon after the storm, the husband comes back home, and their marriage continues, "The storm passed, and everyone was happy" (Chopin 123). As for The Story of an Hour, the setting in the story is that of a window where on looking outside, the place seems sunny though it is during springtime. According to the story, as Louise was looking out through the window, "she was able to see in the open square before the house the treetops which seemed aquiver with the new spring life" (Chopin 180). The spring day can be compared to the rebirth of the woman in the story because she feels that she is very free to do as she wants. The two writings make the reader have a feeling that sunny periods bring happiness as well as new life as though there were no past experiences; the spring is like a season of beautiful and new beginnings.

Theme: Hidden Desire and Forced Marriage

The author uses the theme of hidden desire in both stories where the women desire freedom and that of forced marriage in which the couples in the two stories live together just by commitment. The two main women characters, Calixta of The Storm and Louise of The Story of an Hour, find themselves in a marriage with couples who they do not love. As for The Storm, the author shows the betrayal of one of the couples where despite been in a marriage with her husband for five years, Calixta sees another man, and it is like she starts liking him. Calixta wants to be free in order to be with Alcee; this is evident when Calxita and Alcee reignite their passion during the storm time. "As she looked at him, the fear in her eyes had given place to a drowsy dream that unconsciously betrayed the sensuous desire" (Chopin 122). Chopin in the Story of an Hour shows the apparent death of Louise's husband. Louise is presented as a woman who has been earnestly living with her husband. However, this can be seen as false as her grief for the dead husband turns into happiness. "She did not stop to ask if it were not a monstrous joy that held her" (Chopin 180). Louise was careless of the joy that results due to Brentlys death. Louise is happy at this moment because she considers this the joy she was hoping for. Louise repeatedly says that it is over "free, free, free "(Chopin 180). The two protagonists in these stories are searching at their path for freedom. While Calixta sees her liberty is to get intimate with Alcee, Louise is happy for her husband's death, for she will have to live free in all her years.

Dramatic Irony: Enjoyed Freedom

Lastly, it can be identified that there is some dramatic irony in both the short stories. The dramatic irony is portrayed in that as the two women in both stories enjoy their freedom, neither of the characters notices that they are enjoying. The readers of the short stories know more about the dramatic irony, while the other characters in the writings have no idea of what it is happening (Mayer 96). The reader has some knowledge about the protagonist's happenings that no other characters, apart from those involved, are aware of. The dramatic irony in The Storm is that the reader knows that Calixta engages in a wrong affair (adultery) with Alcee and her husband Bobinot knows nothing about it. As one reads through the two writings, they wait for Bobinot and his sons to return home to see how Calixta will react after they come back. However, Bibi and Bobinot only worry about how they are looking. "Ready for the worst, the meeting with the difficult wife they got in the house cautiously through the back door (Chopin 123). However, Calixta is not angry; she is only satisfied that they have come back safely. Bobinot and his son relax because his wife has not scolded them and end up spending some great moments at the table, not aware of Calixta's betrayal. The audience is aware of all this while Bobinot does not understand anything happening; it is a secret to the rest of the characters like Alcee's wife, Clarisse.

Similarly, in the other short story, Louise, the protagonist, enjoys the death of her husband, which occurs during the railroad accident. Louise is happy since she has always dreamt of how her next years will be full of freedom, something she has ever prayed for. "She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long" (Chopin, 180). Louise's husband did not die at the accident, and it is his return at home that surprises Louise to her death. The major dramatic irony is that every person thinks that Louise dies because of the happiness she gets upon her husband's return (Mayer 98). However, the reader is aware of what kills her, for she had thought she would forever have a life full of freedom, but the surprise of the broken dream is what kills her.

Conclusion

The two writings from Chopin are very similar because of the setting, the theme, and the dramatic irony. It can be seen that the protagonists in both of the stories hide their joy of been free from their marriage from the other characters. They enjoy been away from their spouses, as Calixta enjoys been with a different man; Louise enjoys been alone and free. As for the setting in both stories, it gives the reader the short stories meaning. Additionally, the dramatic irony is in both the writings, and it can be seen that in the end, the setting, theme, and dramatic irony plays a significant role in comparing and contrasting the stories.

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. The Storm.Louisian State University Press.1969.

Chopin, Kate. The story of an hour. Vogue.1894

Mayer, Gary H. "A Matter of behavior: a semantic analysis of five Kate Chopin stories." ETC: A Review of General Semantics 67.1 (2010): 94-100. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-Matter-of-Behavior%3A-A-Semantic-Analysis-of-Five-Mayer/5683e5dddd0c3f07ffc1eee3a9aa23c1b0257f14