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Bobinôt arose and going across to the counter purchased a can of shrimps, of which Calixta was very fond. Then he returned to his perch on the keg and sat stolidly holding the can of shrimps while the storm burst. It shook the wooden store and seemed to be ripping great furrows in the distant field. Bibi laid his little hand on his father’s knee and was not afraid.
Bobinôt is a calm man and a responsible husband and father. He comforts his little son so well that Bibi’s anxious concerns are dispelled, and he keeps track of and acts on Calixta’s preferences, although whether his motivation is to please her or to pacify her is not clear. He seems easy-going, willing to wait patiently for the storm to pass and reasonably certain that life will go on as it generally does. His accepting and tranquil manner in the face of the storm’s destructive power contrasts with the heated, frantic state in which Calixta prepares the house for the coming storm, even before Alcée arrives.
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.
Calixta fulfills the social expectations society has for a wife and mother, as evidenced by her industrious attention to her tasks on behalf of the family. She is so committed to these tasks that, later in the story, Bobinôt worries about Bibi’s muddy feet upsetting this “over-scrupulous housewife.” As the storm approaches, she is sewing clothes for the family and working “furiously,” working up a sweat in the heat. Whether her intensity masks frustrated hopes or simple boredom with the routines of life is not clear, though something drives her actions. In any case, she knows what is expected of her as a housekeeper and wife.
