Kate Chopin, born Kate O'Flaherty, grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the third of five children and the only one in her family to live past her mid-twenties. Because Chopin grew up during the Civil War, she was separated from her only friend Kitty Garesche, whom she had met at the Academy of the Sacred Heart. Chopin's family owned slaves and supported the South. Since St. Louis was a pro-Northern city, the Gareshes were forced to move. In 1870, Chopin married Oscar Chopin, the son of a wealthy cotton-growing family in Louisiana. By all accounts, Oscar loved Chopin. He “admired her independence and intelligence, and “allowed” her unprecedented freedom” (Wyatt). After their marriage, they lived in New Orleans where she had five sons and two daughters. Oscar died there of swamp fever in 1882, and Chopin took over management of his general store and plantation for over a year. Chopin wrote two published novels and one hundred short stories in the 1890s. “Most of her fiction is set in Louisiana, and her best-known work focuses on the lives of sensitive, intelligent women” (Clark). One of my favorite Chopin stories is “The Tempest”. The story was written on July 19, 1898, and was published in The Complete Works of Kate Chopin in 1969. The setting of "The Storm" takes place in the late 19th century in a Friedheimer's shop in Louisiana, and in Calixta's nearby house and Bobinot. Throughout the story, Chopin uses multiple conflicts to reveal his belief that nature can sometimes bring happiness into our lives. At the beginning of the story, readers are immediately struck by the conflict between man and nature. The characters Bibi and Bobinot are in Friedheimer's shop when they notice "dark clouds moving with sinister intentions of Thomas 2... in the middle of the paper... involved with his wife because he writes her a "loving letter, full of tender solicitude ” (Chopin 303). Both characters respect the norms of society by keeping their adultery a secret and living a happy life with their spouses. Chopin ends his story with “the storm passed and everyone was happy” (Chopin 303). The storm here could represent the beginning of a new life. When the storm ends, everything becomes better. This pertains to life in today's society because not all obstacles thrown at us in life are negative. Sometimes it's the bad things in life that change us for the better. Works Cited Chopin, Kate. "The Storm." Literature. Ed. Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell. 8th. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 300-03. Print.Clark, Pamela. "Kate Chopin Biography". katechopin.org. Np, nd Web. 20 February 2014. Wyatt, Neal. "Kate Chopin Biography." vcu.edu. Np, nd Web. 20 February. 2014.