Being Bi-Racial in the Book Desiree's Baby Essay

Desiree knew her outcome either way if the word spread, that Armand could either turn her and her child into a slave since he technically owned her or he could have her killed. She then makes the decision to wander into the

Upon entering L’Abri, Madame Valmond sees Desiree is resting on a couch with her baby boy asleep on her arm. As she bends to greet her daughter with a hug and kiss, she sees how much the child has grown and exclaims, “This is not

One of the first notable feature in “Desiree’s Baby is the naturalistic feeling weaved throughout the entire story. Desiree a young woman is damned by her own society just because of her possible African heritage. At this time in America having one-eighth African heritage was enough to put you on the bottom of the social caste system, especially if you were a female.

In the story “Desiree’s Baby” it shows how Armand is impulsive when he fell in love with Desiree instantaneously. It was at the same pillar where Monsieur Valmonde, her adopted father, found her and her new life begun and ironically it is the same place Armand fell in love with her, signifying another

The racial elitism that existed in Southern culture at the time served as the foundation for the social structure on the Aubigny Plantation and Chopin details how this societally engrained prejudice cruelly affects both servants and master. “Young Aubigny’s rule was a strict one, too, and under it his negroes had forgotten how to be gay, (Chopin 416)”. This excerpt from Desiree’s Baby implies that Armand Aubigny fits the stereotypical description of many slave owners of the time and

In “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, Chopin describes a story of an older woman, Madame Valmondé, coming to see her daughter, Desiree, who is married Armand Aubigny, and her baby. Mme. Valmondé, at first, is astonished at the appearance of the baby. Later, the baby herself shocks because of its dark appearance. Desiree later asks Armand why the baby is black. Then, Armand gets very angry, because Armand, a person who perceives he is of European race, has realized that he is the father to a black baby. Armand goes on to accuse Desiree of being black and being the cause of this perceived imperfection. A very distressed Desiree asks for Mme. Valmondé for help. Mme.

(176). It becomes apparent that Armand?s actions and words greatly affect Desiree when she says, ?My mother, they tell me I am not white? (176). Desiree?s powerless situation can in many ways be blamed for her unresolved uncertainty about her racial identity.

Desiree’s Baby starts out with Desiree and the baby not being seen by Madame Valmonde. They were gone for four weeks. They come back and Desiree goes to sleep with the baby in her arms. Madame takes a

In the beginning of the story of “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, we understand that the baby had been left by her parents near a big stone pillar. Madame Valmondé is the mother who had found the baby. Desiree’s Mother happens to stop by to see the baby, “Madame Valmondé bent her portly figure over Désirée and kissed her, holding her an instant tenderly in her arms. Then she turned to the child. “This is not the baby!” she exclaimed, in startled tones. French was the language spoken at Valmondé in those days.”(Desiree 's baby) Valmondé is a mother that is shocked and is blatantly disrespectful, assuming just because the babies color is different doesn’t make it not yours. “Madame Valmondé had never removed her eyes from the child. She lifted it and walked with it over to the window that was lightest. She

It turns out the baby is of mixed blood and because of this, he shuns his wife and the child he was so proud of only days before. “He absented himself from home and when there, avoided her presence and that of her child, without excuse.”(317). Armand was “the proudest father in the parish…it is a boy to bear his name.”(317). Additionally, he accuses Désirée of not being white (a crime against his family’s “purity”) which she adamantly denies. “It is a lie it is not true, I am white! Look at my hair, it is brown and my eyes are gray, Armand you know they are gray. And my skin is fair,” “Look at my hand whiter than yours, Armand,”(318). She writes to her adopted mother and tells her of what is happening. Her mother tells her to return home with the child where they will both be loved, but Désirée is so shocked and disheartened she sets off towards a local bayou with the child never to be seen again. Armand has made the decision to lose his family in order to save his name and it’s too late to bring Désirée back. The irony is that the letter read by Armand from his mother reveals to him that it is he who is of mixed blood and not Désirée.

His skin darkened and he was denied by all but his mother. Madame Valmonde denied the child and exclaimed that, "This is not the baby!" When his skin darkened, his father also denied the child that he had desperately craved. His father “absented himself from home; and when there, avoided her presence and that of her child. Without excuse.” When Armand feared Desiree was of African descent, he would no longer look at her and acted cruel toward her. He believed his wife and child were beneath him now that he was convinced that she had black blood in her. He began to take his anger at her betrayal out on his slaves. As stated in the story, “And the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slaves.”

To be black is to be condemned to a life of subservience; to be white is to inherit mastery. “Desiree’s Baby” explores racism at its worst. The story takes place soon after Desiree had her baby. As the baby gets a bit older, it becomes obvious that he is not entirely white. Armand, believing that it is Desiree who carries the black in her blood, He send her and his child away.

The time period in which “Desiree’s Baby” is set plays a vital role in the condescending tone of the story. “Desiree’s Baby” is based in a time period of slavery and segregation. This shows the tone of judgement though the form of judging one's skin color. This quote from the story, “It was an October afternoon; the sun was just sinking. Out in the fields the negroes were picking cotton.”

Moreover, when Aubigny knows about his child, his manner toward Desiree changes dramatically; `when he spoke to her, it was with averted eyes, from which the old love-light seemed to have gone out. He absented himself from home; and when there, avoided her presence and that of her child, without excuse.' Desiree dares not ask him about this change because she fears his anger. He should have thought of her questioning him, later on, about the baby being colored or not; his blind irrationality precludes him from taking assimilating that if his wife hadn't been white, she would not have asked him about the child. If anyone examines his behavior, they would definitely conclude that it is not the appropriate behavior toward a woman, and above all, his a devoted wife.

The narrator states that the “Madame” believes the child to be essentially a gift; “that she was without child of the flesh” (Chopin, p. 189). Since she couldn’t carry a child of her own, finding a baby at her doorsteps was a blessing for her. During this period, some found it tolerable to leave a baby on the doorsteps of a family to provide a chance of a better life. Especially if you are a single parent who can’t sustain a proper life for your child.