Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Storm, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Sex, Gender, and Liberation
Sex and Nature
Marriage and Infidelity
Summary
Analysis
At a general store called Friedheimer’s, Bobinôt and his young son, Bibi, decide to wait out an incoming thunderstorm. When Bobinôt, who is “accustomed to converse on terms of perfect equality with his little son,” explains to Bibi that the two will return home after the storm passes, Bibi wonders aloud if his mother, Calixta, will be okay at home. Bobinôt responds that Calixta will be okay as she has the family’s hired help, Sylvie, with her. Bibi corrects his father, explaining that Sylvie was at the house yesterday—not today.
The story's introduction reveals a lot about Bobinôt and Calixta's marriage. Readers first encounter Bobinôt and Bibi at the general store, presumably making purchases for the household. That leaves wife and mother, Calixta, at home. This arrangement mirrors the strict marital norms at the time, which designated women to the domestic sphere, yielding the outside world to men. Further, Bobinôt's ignorance of his wife’s day-to-day schedule indicates that, as a husband, he pays little attention to his own home as it is his wife's domain. The beginning of "The Storm" also helps situate the story in regards to the prequel, “At the 'Cadian Ball,” which tells the story of how young Calixta ends up selecting Bobinôt for marriage. That story, which is set in southern Louisiana, also features Friedheimer’s, which reveals that this story is set in Louisiana as well, though the setting is never stated outright.
Themes
Bobinôt purchases a can of shrimp for Calixta, as they’re her favorite. As the storm begins to descend on the general store, Bobinôt and Bibi sit and watch on as the wind picks up outside. Despite the violent storm, “wise” Bibi is not scared. As Chopin describes it, “Bibi laid his little hand on his father’s knee and was not afraid.”
When confronted with a situation in which his wife is likely alone and afraid, Bobinôt’s response is to buy a can of shrimp which she will later prepare for dinner. This detail indicates that Bobinôt sees his wife as an extension of the home—even his so-called gift to her is just a domestic chore. Meanwhile, Bibi’s disposition in this scene confirms the boy’s unusually mature personality. Not only is Bibi able to speak on a high level, but he also appears unafraid a violent storm, which makes him seem much older than four.
Themes
