ESSAY

Essay will be based on similarities and differences between both Chopin’s stories, “The Storm” and “The Story of an Hour.” Suggestion: compare-contrast the two main characters in the stories, Calixta and Louise.

Main characters: Calixta (“The Storm”) and Louise (“The Story of an Hour”)

A thesis you might want to use: Calixta’s and Louise’s reactions to their marriages

Another possible thesis: Calixta and Louise: similar, yet so different

CALIXTA

LOUISE

DIFFERENCES

SIMILARITIES

DIFFERENCES

Of Spanish (Cuban) descent

Both lived in Louisiana during the second half of the 19th century

Not clear ancestry/ethnicity, probably White

Attractive, good looking

Both are frustrated women who apparently married the wrong partners

No physical description given, only that she is young.

Hot tempered

Both their husbands love them, in their own ways

Mild manners

Apparently healthy

Both are young women

Has a heart condition that kills her at the end of the story

Not very well educated

Both escape their situation
briefly and find joy

Apparently well educated

Has one child

Dependent on their husbands

No children

Low social class, rural

Not honest about their feelings

Middle class, urban

In love with Alcee, as part of a love triangle, adulterous, though she stays with Bobinot.

Both feel a certain degree of affection for their husbands

Not in love with Brently, but she doesn’t have any other lover

She is apparently happy, but must be frustrated inside

She is definitely unhappy