“The kiss” analysis

Kate Chopin wrote a short story called “The Kiss”. It's about Nathalie, a woman
who plans to marry a wealthy man named Brantain. She is, however, involved in an
affair with Mr Harvy. Kate Chopin explores a wide range of themes, such as money as a
substitute for love, confusion, rejection, and acceptance. These themes are represented
to demonstrate that having two things at once is not always possible. Throughout the
story, Kate Chopin uses imagery, irony, and simile to emphasize this idea.
To begin, Miss Nathalie introduces the theme of money over anything in life, not
just marriage. Miss Nathalie is a lovely young lady who is driven to succeed. Nathalie is
in a relationship with Brantain, whom she dates because he is wealthy. I did some
research and discovered that at the time when Kate Chopin wrote this story, it was
quite common for women to have arranged marriages, either for money and wealth or
simply to make ends meet.
I had a deja vu while reading the story. I knew it was because of what I had read
previously. In that sense, "The Kiss" is very similar to "Vanity Fair" by William
Makepeace Thackeray. Women strive for wealth and a better life, so it is no surprise
that Natalie desires the same.
The story is set in Nathalie and her brother's home, another unspecified location,
and the location of Brantain and Nathalie's wedding. The setting, particularly Brantain's
location, is critical to the story's beginning: “Brantain sat in one of these shadows; it
had overtaken him and he did not mind.” Brantain’s attachment to the lovely lady he is
admiring implies that he is "in the dark" metaphorically. And about Nathalie’s true
nature and motivation for pursuing him. "Shadows" imply that something odd is going
on, which is then later confirmed. We get to find out that Nattie is indeed after
Brantain’s wealth.
The sequence of events is divided into five parts. That is the exposition, rising
action, climax, falling action and resolution. The exposition occurs at the start of the
story. Nathalie and her interest are sitting in a dark room. Brantain, a wealthy man in
love with her, dwells in the shadows. They're having a conversation.
Rising action occurs when a family friend, Mr Harvy, enters the room and kisses
Natalie on the lips. The story's climax takes place when Nathalie approaches Brantain
and explains the situation. Here we can clearly see her manipulation tactics and how
skilful she really is: “it makes so much difference to me what you think of – of me”.
Falling action and the resolution appear near the end of the story when Nathalie
marries Brantain and Mr Harvy is among the guests. What Harvy told her was strange.
Either this man is up to something, or Brantain, in addition to being wealthy in fact, was
also wealthy in spirit. Perhaps Harvy acknowledged Natalie's true motives and chose his
own well-being over romantic affection.
Regardless, the author employs a number of techniques throughout the story to
emphasize the main themes. Chopin employed imagery, irony, and simile as techniques.
Furthermore, Kate Chopin skillfully used metaphor to amplify the plot: Nathalie believes
she has won both men in the game through manipulation, but Harvy abandons her to
teach her that she cannot have both money and love. The story's main idea is to depict
the inner conflict of a young woman who chooses to be with a wealthy man she does
not love over a man who is her real interest but eventually she is left abandoned.