The setting of a work of fiction establishes its historical, geological, and physical location. Where and when the story takes place influences interpretations of the story's events and characters. Setting may be vital to a story, influencing character's behavior, as it does in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" and as in Kate Chopin's "The Storm." In both of these stories, the setting is the most critical motif. It is the driving force upon how the stories are moved along by its influence over the character's actions.
             In Kate Chopin's "The Storm," the setting of the first scene symbolically hints that something just isn't right. The air is thick with a humid heat and there are somber clouds rolling in from the west. The air is still, and in the distance there can be heard a sullen, threatening roar. A storm is on the way, and establishes a solid barrier between Calixta and her husband. The somber clouds rolling in from the west represent not only the storm, but also Alcée Laballière, a friend of Calixta's who is ridding through the area. The sullen, threatening roar is representative of Calixta's marriage and how it is being threatened by her affair that is on the horizon.
             Scene two depicts Calista at home sewing. The humid heat is causing her to break out in sweat, and at first she does not notice the storm is coming. By the same token, she is also unaware that Alcée Laballière is on his way. When she finally comes to her senses, she goes outside to get the clothes off the clothesline and she sees Alcée. The moment is a bit awkward because she had to unfasten a few buttons on her shirt because it was so hot, and she was sweating, and also because in the past she and Alcée had some kind of relationship before she had married BobinÔt. The setting of the of the story places both...