Shrimp Symbol Analysis

The can of shrimp symbolizes Calixta and Bobinôt’s traditional marriage, complete with rigid gender roles. At the realization that Calixta is home alone during such an intense thunderstorm, Bobinôt purchases a can of shrimp as a gift for his wife to make up for his absence. Chopin penned the story in 1898, a time in which traditional marriage norms dictated that women devote their lives to keeping up the home and leave public-facing duties (like business and politics) to the men. With the can of shrimp, Bobinôt signals that he and Calixta exist within the confines of traditional marriage norms: Bobinôt goes to town and purchases the shrimp, acting as the provider for his wife, while Calixta cooks his bounty within the home.

It’s also telling that Bobinôt considers the can of shrimp an adequate gift for his wife, demonstrating that he thinks of Calixta in a functional sense. In other words, to Bobinôt, Calixta is an extension of the domestic space. After all, Bobinôt is essentially buying Calixta a means to a chore, as she—not Bobinôt—will prepare the shrimp dinner. On her end, Calixta, relaxed from her sexual encounter with Alcée, happily accepts and makes the shrimp for dinner. Calixta’s enthusiastic acceptance of Bobinôt’s can of shrimp indicates an acceptance of the arrangement between herself and her husband. In other words, so long as Calixta can find sexual pleasure outside her marriage, she’s satisfied with what Bobinôt brings to the table.