I
Leaves so still,
going to rain
Somber clouds,
rolling from West
They sat within the
door,
Bibi, four years old
Bobinot, a can of
shrimps,
The storm burst.
II
Calixta sewing
furiously
Greatly occupied did
not notice
The approaching
storm, very warm,
dark.
She hastened out
before the rain,
Alcee rode in.
“May I come in,
Calixta?”
“Come ‘long in,
Alcee.”
His voice and her
own,
As if from a trance,
Alcee mounting,
grabbed trousers,
Snatched jacket,
carried away by a
sudden gust.
He went inside,
Closing the door
after.
A piece of bagging,
Alcee thrust it
beneath the crack,
Flung himself into a
rocker,
Calixta nervous.
She at the window,
greatly disturbed,
Alcee joined her at
the window,
over her shoulder.
Calixta staggered
backward.
Alcee encircled her,
drew her
Spasmodically to him.
The contact of her
Warm palpitating body
had aroused all
Infatuation and
desire.
He pushed her hair
back,
Face warm and
steaming, lips
Red and moist as
pomegranate seed,
White neck and full,
firm bosom.
Liquid blue eyes,
sensuous desire.
Nothing for him to do
but
To gather her lips.
A low voice broken,
passion, senses fail,
Free to be tasted,
her round white
Throat, whiter
breasts.
Crashing torrents,
the roar
Of the elements, her
laugh.
She was a revelation.
So for this post, we know that “The Storm” by Kate Chopin
was about the freeing of inhibitions between two characters that had a sort of
“forbidden love” due to societal improprieties and the obligations each
character felt compelled to observe to his or her class and gender
respectively. I went through the very beginning of the story and started a
poem. I didn’t really pick up on much the first time I read this story but once
you start to slim it down it becomes obvious.
The words in this story are so sexually charged that I would
have thought most people would have found Chopin’s “The Storm” to be smut. It
would have had to be sold in a brown paper bag because it is so bawdy. It
almost enhances my appreciation of Chopin’s writing to notice how carefully
selected her words were. There isn’t a lot of repetition of words, but there
are a lot of repetitions of sound, which shows Chopin’s talent even more. Even
phrases like “Crashing torrents” seems to reflect the feelings of the
characters in a sort of pathetic fallacy. This story would have made a very compelling poem.
Even though the poem is very sexual, doesn't mean it doesn't have meaning. Kate Chopin is a great author and I believe her to be one of the best that we have had to read this semester. I enjoyed this poem for all the detail that she has included with it. I like to read things that I can easily illustrate in my head. Giving a great amount of detail helps that. We shouldn't really be worried about the sexual part of this poem because there is far more worse out there.
ReplyDeleteYou captured what I try to explain to my students about my great-grandmother's views on this (what I THINK they would be) since she lived during that time period. Smut is the word!
ReplyDeleteChopin was one of the top poets who's work I have read this semester. I did enjoy this particular poem mostly because I knew most of the characters already from "At The 'Cadian Ball". It was interesting to find out what else happens to the characters after this story.
ReplyDelete