In a short story or novel authors in the early 1900's use the setting to mean different significance. The authors use time, place, and the atmosphere to relate to the theme. Kate Chopin was a writer in this time period; she used setting as a significant idea of the theme in, "The Storm." When she wrote she would "use the physical world-as the charged atmosphere of 'The Storm' to symbolize the inner truths of her characters' minds and hearts" (139).
             In her time period the talk of sex was not approved, but she did not believe that sex was a destructive force, but much more a joyous occasion, and an elemental part of life. In "The Storm" the theme is a woman caught at home alone in the middle of a very serious storm and an old friend stops by for shelter, but the person that stops by is a person that she had feelings for in the past. "The Storm" uses the symbol of the storm to be the parallel of the feelings inside of the house. The storm creates a feeling of Calixta being scared and wanting someone to make that feeling to disappear. Alćee, the friend that needs shelter from the storm, sees that Calixta needs someone to comfort her and relax her mind. With the storm growing louder outside and, Calixta getting more worried about her husband and son she, "put her hands to her eyes, and with a cry, staggered backward. Alćee's arm encircled her, and for an instant he drew her close and spasmodically to him" (140). If not for the storm she would not be at home with another man while her son and husband are stuck at the market in the middle of a storm.
             The place also plays a major role in the story. It takes place in the rural area of the Louisiana Bayou, where houses are three to four miles apart, and when a person looks outside all he will see is flat plains. "The rain was over; and the sun was turning the glis
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