“The Storm” by Kate Chopin has really impressed me as a reader. Therefore, I am under impression that the best way to critically analyze the story is by implementing Reader Response Criticism method. My choice was much influenced by the impulsivity, vivacity, and originality of the short story in question. I am strongly under impression that every reader might find something beautiful and charming in this narrative, consequently, turning “The Storm” into something more than merely a collection of rhetorical devices.

My understanding of the story implies that its main idea is to describe human relationships, or, better to say, relationships between men and women with all the improvisation, inevitability, and strength, which may be compared to a storm. A storm of feelings and passion – that is what the story is all about. Moreover, one might pay additional attention to how Calixta is described as a woman. Much emphasis is given to her beauty. Though, the fact that Calixta had a husband and a son may give birth to disapproval and even disgust to a reader, this, nonetheless, does not happen, due to the ways the story is settled and the action described. The reader is actually able to feel the tension between Calixta and Alcée, see their gestures and, what is even more important, to realize how innocent and natural it is.