Characters

The short story “The Storm” by Kate Chopin features five characters: Calixta and Alcée Laballière, as the protagonists, and Bibi, Bobinôt, and Clarisse, as secondary characters. 

Calixta is a woman who dedicates her life to her husband, her son, and their home. However, she is a beautiful woman with a passionate side that she cannot live out with her husband. Calixta's desires are in contrast with her traditional roles as housewife and mother.

Alcée is Calixta's former lover with whom she has an affair. He is introduced in the second part of the story. The author conveys the sense that Alcée is an ordinary, complicated human being, whose impulses and actions do not always match with their values.

You can read their full characterization in the next pages.