The Storm

"Calixta, at home, felt no uneasiness for their safety. She sat at a side window sewing furiously on a sewing machine. She was greatly occupied and did not notice the approaching storm. But she felt very warm and often stopped to mop her face on which the perspiration gathered in beads. She unfastened her white sacque at the throat. It began to grow dark, and suddenly realizing the situation she got up hurriedly and went about closing windows and doors. "

This paragraph portrays a typical wife or mother in the period of time when the story was written. She devotes herself to the family and housework. She puts all her attention into the housework and does not even realize the threatening storm. The description of Calixta in this paragraph makes readers feel like she is a qualified wife, which contrasts with she having an affair with Alcee in the following part of the story.