Castillo; Echeverra; Espinoza 1

Stephanie Castillo, Ana Echeverra, Marisol Espinoza

Miss Andrea Campaa

Metodologa de la Investigacin Literaria

1 September 2017

Calixtas adulterous act as a means to achieve a moment of happiness

Marriage, women and the kind of the relationships they could have according to the 1890s society in

Louisiana are completely different from the ones we see in our society nowadays. Women happiness back

in those days was tightly connected to their role as housekeepers, wives and mothers. People used to think

that woman did not have worries about sexuality or passion. Furthermore, even some doctors thought that

way; the majority of women (happily for them) are not very much troubled by sexual feeling of any kind

(Acton). Their feelings and also their thoughts were not taken into account. Not even in literature women

were able to express themselves freely. However, there are few pieces of work where we can have a look of

how these women lived, felt and thought. Kate Chopin was a controversial writer whose work used to

present very controversial women characters and topics such as female sexuality. In Chopins The Storm

we have a particular female character, Calixta. She is married to Bobint and together they have a four-

year-old son (Bibi). Although Calixta has everything a woman needed to be happy, according to the time,

she did not seem particularly happy about her life. But, despite that Calixta commits adultery her personality

changes dramatically. She seems a completely different person after the adulterous act and therefore we can

think that Calixtas adulterous act can be seen as a means to achieve a moment of happiness.

As we have mentioned, Calixta did not seem to enjoy her current life. She is portrayed as someone whose

preoccupations and duties are far more important than herself. The fact that she performed simple tasks in

strange ways can tell us she is not happy, or at least that she is not at ease with it. Calixta, at home, felt no

uneasiness for their safety. She sat at a side window sewing furiously on a sewing machine. She was greatly

occupied and did not notice the approaching storm. (1). The way her husband and child talk about her also

sheds light upon Calixtas unhappiness. They think of her as someone who cares a lot about appearance and

strong character. Bobint and Bibi, trudging home, stopped without at the cistern to make themselves
 Castillo; Echeverra; Espinoza 2

presentable. My! Bibi, wat will yo mama say! You ought to be ashame. You oughta put on those good

pants. Look at em! (...) Then, prepared for the worstthe meeting with an over-scrupulous housewife, they

entered cautiously at the back door. (4). Both expected Calixta to be furious about their appearance, instead,

they are surprised by her unconcerned reaction.

Oh, Bobint! You back! My! but I was uneasy. Were you been during the rain? An Bibi? he aint

wet? he aint hurt? She had clasped Bibi and was kissing him effusively. Bobints explanations

and apologies which he had been composing all along the way, died on his lips as Calixta felt him

to see if he were dry, and seemed to express nothing but satisfaction at their safe return. (4).

These events can be interpreted as evidence of Calixtas unhappiness, allowing us to think that the life she

had was not enough for her.

Although there are no literal passages in the text or hints to prove that Calixta did not love Bobint, there

are certain things that allow us to think there was no passionate love between them. On the one hand,

Bobints worries regarding Calixta are those of a child to a mother instead of a husband to a wife. From

The Storm we cannot have clues of their relationship as a married couple, however, from At The Cadian

Ball -Chopins previous short story about these characters- we can know that their marriage had an

unconventional beginning. She wanted to have something with Alce while Bobint wanted to have

something with her. As Alce was to be married to Clarissa, Calixta settled for marrying Bobint since he

was the only option she had left.

Therefore, Calixta is left with no other choice but to accept Bobinots proposal. Bobint grew bold with

happiness and asked Calixta to kiss him. She turned her face, that was almost ugly after the nights

dissipation, and looked steadily into his. I don want to kiss you, Bobint, she said, turning away again,

not to-day. Some other time. Bont divine! Ent you satisfy, yet! Oh, Im satisfy, Calixta, he said (7).

Maybe, she started to love him afterwards, or developed a relationship of trust, love and care; but there is

no way for us to think they loved each other passionately. On the other hand, based on the setting described,

Calixta and Bobint shared their room with Bibi which leads to a reduced passionate relationship, and

therefore no sexual activity either. They may have enjoyed a year -or at least few months- of freedom
 Castillo; Echeverra; Espinoza 3

before Bibis arrival. Hence, all the passion they could have had is lost by their current state. Also, their

room is presented as dim and mysterious (2). This marriage had everything but a lovers relationship that

may have lead Calixta to do what she did.

Calixta and Alce have a brief sexual encounter, one they have been waiting for years. This encounter starts

and ends during a storm, which represents the resistance that both feel about their sexual satisfaction and

necessity of passion. The storm bursts into their lives to make them forget children, husband and wife. This

adulterous act breaks with the religiosity and normality of that time, period in which acts like these were

synonyms of immorality and sin. But, in the case of the characters, there were not negative consequences,

quite the opposite: Both were happy and returned to their normal lives. As Chopin mentioned, and when

the three seated themselves at table they laughed much and so loud that anyone might have heard them

(4) referring to Calixta and her family, meanwhile Alces attitude also was peaceful (He) wrote to his

wife, Clarisse, that night. It was a loving letter, full of tender solicitude (4).

Both characters have an inconclusive past love story, which led them to feel a strong mutual attraction when

they see each other after a long time. It is clear that Calixta was not happy with her actual life, but she finds

physical (passionate) happiness with Alce in this adulterous act. And that is happiness, just a moment. A

moment in which you feel comfortable and satisfied with what you are doing, just like Calixta felt. Was it

a right decision to commit this act? Is it correct to be unfaithful? We do not think so. We only say that

Calixtas actions were done because of the pursuit of happiness. She did not think about the consequences

or if what she was doing was the right thing, she only did what made her happy at that moment.

Finally, according to this essay, two aspects of the story can be concluded. First, the concept that society

has about of happiness loses moral value when contrasting with the text, because ambiguity fulfils

absolutely everything what can be read in the narration. Therefore, we think that Kate Chopin tries to bend

our acquired conception of infidelity that, by agreement within society, adultery is historically rejected.

Second, Calixtas necessity of satisfying a frustration validates her own happiness. In other words, she did

it to achieve a moment of happiness.

 Castillo; Echeverra; Espinoza 4

Works Cited
Acton, William. Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs, in Childhood, Youth, Adult Age,
and Advanced Life, Considered in the Physiological, Social, and Moral Relations. Philadelphia :
Lindsay and Blakiston, 1865. pdf. <https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/bookviewer?PID=nlm:nlmuid-
101517402-bk>.
Chopin, Kate. At the Cadian Ball. n.d. pdf. 30 08 2017.
<http://www.englishcaddy.org/short%20stories/CADIANBALL.pdf>.
. The Storm. 1898. pdf. 30 08 2017.
<https://eclass.uoa.gr/modules/document/file.php/ENL216/TEXTS/The%20Storm%20Chopin.pdf
>.