Through the use of Brantain's character as well as Harvy's, the author of 'The Kiss' demonstrates how men in patriarchal societies compete with one another for power when women are involved. This competition stems from two main ideas. The first is that men in patriarchal societies often view women as trophies rather than as lovers. They are treated as pawns in a larger game to obtain social status. This is clearly illustrated when Nathalie is described as "(...) very handsome, with a certain fine, rich coloring that belongs to the healthy brune type" (Chopin, p.8), and, so, Brantain "(...)…