Calixta - A Character Analysis

crawford 1 chawna crawford WGST 219/ENG 105 Dr. Patsy Fowler Thursday, March 24, 2016 The Tempest in Her Kate Chopin is known for concocting strong female characters whose circumstances and situations trap them into traditional gender roles. They often face dilemmas that challenge those roles and in turn, they have to make important decisions about their continued participation in those roles. Calixta, one such character displays strong and dynamic character attributes in Chopin’s short story “The Storm”. Although Calixta is a wife and mother who loves her family immensely, she steps out of her traditional gender roles when she chooses to allow Alcée Laballière to weather the storm inside the house, albeit she was there by herself, which was not proper for a lady to do in her time. Calixta and Alcée are entangled in the perfect storm and in each other in a moment of pure bliss, they resolve an affair that had been over five years in the making with no negative repercussions on Calixta or her family, emphasizing not only Calixta’s love for her family but her ability to navigate in and out of her gender roles as she needs to. Calixta shows immense and intense love for her family in numerous ways throughout “The Storm”. The story pivots from Bobinôt and Bibi at Friedheimer’s buying canned shrimps to Calixta at home sewing and completely oblivious to storm approaching outside. When she eventually notices the storm, her instincts trigger and she swiftly brings in the laundry from the line which belonged to Bobinôt and Bibi (701). There is a sense of

crawford 2 duty when it comes to taking down the laundry, but the urgency Calixta experiences indicates a love for her family and illustrates feelings that it is important to her that her family have dry clothes. Once inside, Calixta makes a few comments during the storm that show unmistakable care and concern that only a doting and loving mother and wife can have. As the rain starts cascading down outside, she talks to Alcée about the levees holding and said, “…An’ there’s Bobinôt with Bibi out in that storm if he only didn’ left Friedheimer’s!” (702). She then goes on to say, “…If I only knew w’ere Bibi was!” (702). Calixta seems not only shaken about the storm descending on her home but incredibly concerned that her son and husband were out in it and held hope that they had not left Friedheimer’s. Her love is most evident in section III when Bobinôt and Bibi come home. She says, “Oh, Bobinôt! You back! My! But I was uneasy. W’ere you been during the rain? An’ Bibi? He ain’t wet? He ain’t hurt?” (703). The text goes on to describe Calixta’s affection: She had clasped Bibi and was kissing him effusively. Bobinôt’s 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. (703) This paragraph epitomizes the love, relief, happiness, and all other emotions Calixta feels for her husband and her son. In that moment and all the moments forward, nothing mattered except for their safety. In one moment, Calixta reinforces the immense love she has for her family and how she is easily able to step back into her gender roles. Calixta, living in traditional gender roles her entire life has grown accustomed to having her actions and feelings, where she goes, and what she does dictated to her. She

crawford 3 knows and takes comfort in the predictability of always knowing where she belongs. After a time, however, Calixta realized that she did not have to stay in these roles after allowing Alcée Laballière into her house to stay the storm. There was a noticeable transition between the time Alcée and Calixta first spoke outside in the rain and the moment that they had their stormy moment of intimacy. Alcée asked to come in from the gallery and Calixta said to him, “Come ‘long in, M’sieur Alcée (701).” This initial interaction startled her “as if from a trance (701)” and she hastily retrieved her husband’s and son’s laundry which suggested an attempt by Calixta to remind herself of the role of caregiver she was playing when Alcée rode up on his horse. Her butterflies around Alcée endured, which is evident when she “nervously began to gather up from the floor the lengths of a cotton sheet which she had been sewing (702)” after Alcée had settled himself in a chair. Additionally, she is overcome when lightning strikes a chinaberry tree outside and swoons right into Alcée’s waiting arms. Not until they make small talk does Calixta glean that she is looking at the opportunity of a lifetime. Alcée reminded her of their time together in Assumption when he would kiss her over and over, but they were forbidden to be together (702). The most amazing intimacy that either Calixta or Alcée had known transpired as she temporarily sets her traditional gender roles aside and with one touch from Alcée. Calixta remembers everything stagnant in her life and the only thing that matters lies in Alcée’s arms (702). “Her firm, elastic flesh that was knowing for the first time its birthright…his own sensuous nature that had never yet been reached” (703). The combination of the sultry storm outside, the reminders of intimate times she shared being kissed by Alcée created a perfect storm inside and out and both storms seemed to subside coincidentally and just like that, Alcée mounts his horse and “Calixta, on the gallery, watched Alcée ride away (703).”

crawford 4 The steamy moment of intimacy between Calixta and Alcée is a small part of this story and has a magnificent effect on them, but does not appear to have negative repercussions on Calixta within her family dynamic or on Bobinôt and Bibi reinforcing Calixta as a strong, complex character who can smoothly step in and out of her traditional gender roles. There is a sense of normalcy in the home. The storm has departed and with it, Alcée has taken his leave. Calixta was making coffee and dinner when her husband and son came in (703). It was as though she had been home alone the whole time the storm was raging outside, with not so much as a whisper of the supervening events. She was undoubtedly shocked and excited to see Bobinôt and Bibi walk in as she was shouting and asking them where they were during the storm and if they were okay, especially Bibi. Overwhelmed and excited, Calixta steps easily back into her roles of mother and wife and additionally, typifies women of her time who are often emotional and social and domestic. Bobinôt presents her with the can of shrimps and she is overjoyed. “Shrimps! Oh, Bobinôt! You too good fo’ anything! … we’ll have a feas’ to-night! Umph-umph!” (704). With ease, Calixta steps into the cook and caregiver roles as comfortably as she laid in Alcée’s arms. She spends the rest of the night unwinding and laughing with her family “so loud that anyone might have heard them as far away as Laballière’s (704).” Calixta epitomizes strong, dynamic, and complex characteristics in a world created by Kate Chopin. She uses her strength to fluidly navigate between traditional female gender roles such as a caregiver, wife, mother, and domestic to more nontraditional roles of lover and adulterer. Despite stepping into these nontraditional female roles, Calixta loves her son and husband greatly and shows it by hastily retrieving their clothes from the line outside. She also talks about them throughout her conversation with Alcée and is incredibly

crawford 5 concerned for their safety when the storm starts as well as being over the moon excited when they come home. The gender roles are put aside for a moment of fulfilling passion with Alcée that was the best intimacy she had ever experienced and it took her being reminded of the amazing times she had with Alcée in the past. Reminiscing enable her to step out of tradition and into the roles that helped her connect with Alcée on the deepest intimate level. The roles Calixta took part in around Alcée were the same roles that taught her how to not be nervous around him and how to allow Alcée’s touch consume her. Additionally, Calixta was able to successfully maneuver back into the traditional gender roles as Bobinôt and Bibi returned from the store. Back to her roles of wife, mother, and cook once again, Calixta ecstatically greeted them home and safe and nothing else mattered. They had a wonderful family night together in which she made them dinner with canned shrimps. They laughed and loved and enjoyed themselves. “So the storm passed and every one was happy (704).”