Desiree's Baby Literary Analysis

The story Desiree’s Baby is about a young woman who is adopted by a two wealthy french creoles that live in Louisiana. Monsieur and Madame Valmonde adopted Desiree when she was found as a young infant by a pillar near the gate of their estate. The story then follows Desiree as she matures into a young woman and is married to a man named Armand whom which she loves very much. Armand and desiree soon have a child and both are extremely happy about the child but Armand soon pulls away both his compassion and happiness when he see’s something wrong with the child. Armand realises that the child is has some black in it, which happens to be the skin color of slavery. Shamed Armand blames Desiree for his child being part black seeing that Desiree’s

In Desiree’s Baby, Kate Chopin shows how over valuing of white race and status can destroy a relationship and a family. Race and status are intangible ideas humans make up to segregate one another and should not be valued higher than a human life, but this is not the case in "Desiree’s Baby.”

We don't know what he had told her but we could use foreshadowing to assume it wasn't` pleasant. Although the death had been on different people. In “Desiree's Baby” she had been mistreated nothing she could have done after Armand had left her so the only choice she took was to commit suicide, terminating herself and the newborn. The way we know that Is the way the story builds up letting us know what had happened building up the

the skin color between the boy and her baby. Desiree confronted Armand and asked him to

Analyzing foreshadowing from Desiree's baby Early in the story the reader learns that Armand was not happy about raising a baby with Desiree with the fact that the baby was black. In a way Armand hints at Desiree “when a strange, and awful change in her husband's manner which she dared not to ask him.” when he spoke to her, it was with averted eyes, from which the old love light seemed to have gone out was the first clue of unhappiness with Desiree and the baby. This moment becomes more evident when it says “had absented himself from home; and when there avoided her presence and that of her child,without excuse.

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In the beginning of the story, Armand and Desiree’s love seems to pure, strong, and absolutely unconditional. When Chopin describes how Armand fell in love with Desiree, she states that he fell in love “as if struck by a pistol shot...The passion that awoke him that day...swept along like an avalanche, or like a prairie fire, or like anything that drives headlong over all obstacles(1).” Such wording indicates that the love of Desiree and Armand was a love meant to withstand all obstacles. However, during the time that Armand was convinced that Desiree was black after seeing the complexion of their baby, his love for her evaporates, having been replaced by his disgust with Desiree’s dubious background and his excessive worry about the negative opinions of others. His character returns to its original state, for there was “a strange, awful change in her husband’s manner...When he spoke to…(Desiree), 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. And the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slavery(2).” The reason he suddenly despised her was simply and selfishly “because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name(4).” The invincible love that was originally introduced to readers ceased to exist, as this love, this powerful, insurmountable love, was a conditional love the whole time. Desiree is thoroughly shocked by this treacherous betrayal and loss of loyalty. Split apart by the pain of this shame and heartbreak, “she disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou; and she did not come back again(4).” In an

"He no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name. " With the information that Armand has, he believes that Desiree rightfully knew she was of black race and deliberately wanted to ruin his name. After her leaving, he spent the remainder of the day burning all of Desiree's and his baby's belongings. He began searching through drawers where he found a tiny bundle of letters from Desiree. To his surprise, at the back of the drawer he found a letter from his mother to his father.

Throughout time, humans struggled with issues of conformity and individuality. In the modern world, individuality is idealized, as it is associated with strength. Weak individuals are usually portrayed as conforming to society and having almost no personal ideas. In “Desiree’s Baby”, a short story, the author Kate Chopin deals with the struggles of African descendants in the French colonies during the time of slave labor. The protagonist is a white woman named Desiree who is of unknown origin and birth as she was found abandoned as an infant at an aristocrat’s doorstep. Eighteen years after her discovery, she and a fellow aristocrat, Armand Aubigny, fall in love and get married. They soon have a child, yet conflict arises when the child

In the end the short story, it mentions “she did not come back again” implying she sadly ended her life. The reason for her death was because her husband who claimed did not care about her origins changed his mind after Desiree's baby was born and realized that she was not white in blood.(Chopin) The author explains, “My mother, they tell me I am not white. Armand has told me I am not white. For God’s sake tell them it is not true.

Desiree is betrayed by Armand because he has too much pride. I believe pride is what keeps Armand from loving Desiree the way she wants to be loved. The betrayal endured from her husband causes her to be depressed and feel hopeless. Desiree told her mother, “I cannot be so unhappy, and live” (541). She has a happy life and a family she adores and cannot live with anything less. I disagree with the hopelessness portrayed by Desiree but understand the depth of her pain. Desiree’s husband is a prideful man who chooses name over love and family.

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Leigh Michaels once said, “What keeps readers turning pages is suspense, which you can create using a variety of techniques.” This is a very true statement because suspense is what hooks readers to keep flipping those pages. Suspense is a key element to detective stories, without it the story would be very bland and boring. Why is that we need suspense to make a page turning story?

     In Kate Chopin’s short story, “Desiree’s Baby”, she demonstrates how racism played a major part in people’s lives in the 1800’s. Kate Chopin is extremely successful in getting her readers to feel disturbed by the events in the story. Through words and images, the reader feels touched by the story, either by relating to it at some points or when confronted with things we frequently decide to ignore in the world: the evil some human beings are capable of possessing.

These two were soon wed and had started to grow as a family. Once Desiree had birthed a son for Armand he cherished her even more as she had given him a legacy. As this child began to grow into his toddler years Armand regretted his decision to marry Desiree – ultimately leading to her and her child’s assumed death.