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Comparing Kate Chopin's The Storm And The Awakening

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Immoral. Sensual. Daring. These words reverberated into a woman’s world while society forcibly stamped their disapproval and rejected the Kate Chopin outright. Unconventional, intelligent, and gracious, she matched society with her quick Irish wit and charmed anyone who knew her. Not satisfied with the women’s role in society, she provocatively stirred emotions, thoughts, and ideas in her writings. Two such classic examples are “The Storm” and The Awakening. The idea for a women to have sexual desires, human connections, and forthright adultery shocked and revolted the society she lived. This unconventional, innovative poet did not deter away her own personal thoughts and feelings from her judgmental peers. She relied on and stayed …show more content…

Chopin used the nature and the natural surroundings to set the tone in the story. "The playing of the lightning was incessant. A bolt struck a tall chinaberry tree at the edge of the field. It filled all visible space with a blinding glare and the crash seemed to invade the very boards they stood upon." Calixta acted upon her sexual passions, and her ending turned into a happy, satisfactory one. She did not let her passion condemn her. She celebrated and embraced it to its full capacity. She did not abandon her own family. She accepted her responsibilities and duties with a renewed sense of commitment. This explosive, sexual affair is for her personal fulfillment. In addition, she still remains happy when returning to her submerged life. "So the storm passed and everyone was happy." Edna in The Awakening has her freedom for flirtatious behavior, love of art, and swimming. She feeds her selfish, obsessed need for drama in her life. She ignores the raging battle within her for a greater cause that is larger than herself. She opts not to submit herself to being a wife and mother. This ending leaves her in loneliness and depravation. Her solitude eventually led her to he own suicide. Both stories have an affair with a result in two extremes. Does either consequential end justify the means for adultery? Following one’s own passions will also have some type of effect on the individual and others around the individual. It is not always greener on the other side. A choice will not allow an individual to stay in the middle to satisfy both sides. This decision does choose a side even if the individual herself is not ready to make such a choice. Edna saw the only way out of her mundane life was to dramatically end it. She acted on own whims selfishly as well as ending her life selfishly with no thoughts or concerns of the affect it would have on her own family. While Calixta enjoyed her adulterous

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