Saving the Family's Name in Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin

Chopin show’s that Armand is unable to welcome the knowledge that his mother “belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery,” (250). Not only is Armand unable to accept this fact but he is not will to take responsibility for his actions resulting in his knowledge of his heritage. Desiree seemed to be the perfect solution for Armand’s secret since her background is a mystery and she has such

In “Desiree Baby” Chopin shows how one skin color defines social class, and determines the value and identity of another (Cummings).For the majority of the story, Armand is clearly looked upon as a white male of class and wealth, until the end of the story. He owns land in L’ Abri, and he has a plantation full of African Americans working for him as slaves. Armand have slaves to do his work for him. He also expresses an individual class between the races of the slaves. The lighter slaves worked inside with his

In the time period that this story was written, a person’s background meant something as a name was a sense of wealth and worth. Since Desiree was adopted, her background was unknown and when Armand decided to marry Desiree he didn’t care because he would give her his name as all he cared about was his affection for her. For a little while all was well in the household. Desiree and Armand were happier than ever, and Armand treated his slaves better. This soon took a drastic turn as everyone noticed that their son had begun to show qualities of a Negro. Once these features were noticed, Armand’s attitude towards his wife and his slaves changed for the worst. In Armand’s eyes Desiree was at fault for giving the child those features since her history was unknown. Even after Desiree gives her husband evidence that she may not be a carrier, she and her child are still banished from the home and sent on their way.

"Desiree's Baby" is Kate Chopin's most well-known short story and most anthologized piece of work. The story takes place in southern Louisiana and her writing reflects her Creole-French descent. Chopin begins the story with a descriptive quote, "when she reached L'Abri she shuddered at the first sight of it, as she always did. It was a sad looking place...Big solemn oaks grew close to it and their thick leaved, far-reaching branches shadowed it like a pall" (185). The preceding quote gives the reader an eerie feeling and foreshadows an unpleasant ending to the story. Throughout "Desiree's Baby," Kate Chopin uses symbolism to convey her themes of racial prejudice, unequal gender roles, and

In the short story, “Desiree’s Baby,” Kate Chopin exposes the harsh realities of racial divide, male dominance, and slavery in Antebellum Louisiana. Although written in 1894, Chopin revisits the deep-south during a period of white privilege and slavery. Told through third-person narration, the reader is introduced to characters whose individual morals and values become the key elements leading to the ironic downfall of this antebellum romance. As Chopin takes the reader through the unfortunate circumstances and unexpected twists of Desiree’s life, a Southern Gothic tale emerges. While Armonde is Chopin’s obvious villain, one should not assume that the other characters are not antagonists themselves, as

All in all, the insight that can be drawn from reading “Desiree’s Baby” is that Kate Chopin personified some aspects of herself in the character of Desiree and she uses this to express her feministic views. Although Kate Chopin’s feminist views are very well documented, in the case of “Desiree’s Baby”, Chopin uses a character that shares characteristics

Differences between people create conflicts between people.  This is especially true between men and women, since throughout history society has viewed women as subservient to men.  Kate Chopin’s feminist short story, Desiree’s Baby, illustrates man’s domination over woman.  Since Desiree meekly accepts being ruled by Armand, and Armand regards Desiree as his possession, the master/slave relationship that exists between Armand and Desiree is undeniable.

The sense that Armand is so proud of himself is like a hint of how the end will turn out because when we realize that the child is black the reader automatically knows that he is going to blame his wife. Never would he consider himself black. The thought of Armand being black never crosses the reader’s mind either. Kate Chopin also deceived the reader into thinking that Désirée is in fault by

In Kate Chopin’s short story “Desiree's Baby”, there are many literary elements. The two most prominent elements are character and imagery. Kate Chopin uses graphic, lifelike imagery to deeply express the character of Armand. Character and imagery convey Armand's interesting and complex character, due to Kate Chopin using such vivid imagery.

Without racial comparisons, the story would only be a tragedy, reading as a criticism of hasty racial categorization because of the suffering it brings, but with them it is a depiction of a flawed system that has rewarded a black man. Chopin first contrasts Armand’s tendency to take on “the very spirit of Satan” in dealing with slaves with the more relaxed relationship they had with his father (441). Looking upon L’Abri, Madame Valmonde is troubled to realize that under Young Aubigny’s rule “his negroes had forgotten how to be gay, as they had been during the old master’s easy-going and indulgent lifetime” (440). Additionally, Madame Valmonde’s sadness upon seeing the estate may indicate that Monsieur Valmonde, a white man like Armand’s father, lacks young Aubigny’s cruelty. Armand’s lack of compassion is seen again upon realizing his son’s black heritage. Feeling that “Almighty God had dealt cruelly and unjustly with him” by giving him a quadroon child, Armand asks Desiree and the child to leave L’Abri (442). In contrast, Monsieur Valmonde’s treatment of Desiree as “the idol of Valmonde” depicts his compassion toward a child who may potentially be black (440). Chopin’s racist undertones are realized as the dark-skinned Armand, characterized by volatility and callousness, is meant to be looked upon much less favorably than the story’s compassionate white slave owners.

When we as a class read the short stories by Kate Chopin, there was one character and the events that took place in her life that stood out to me. Desiree, and the happy to traumatic events that were spread out through one short story. Desiree was a very happy woman, who had a wonderful childhood but the wonderful childhood had a fault just like the end of her life did. Desiree was abandoned as a baby and found by a loving couple on the wealthier side who could not have children, they treated her so much like her own she had no clue she was not, until one day her adult life had been turned upside down due to the history of who she really was. Desiree and her Husband Armond realized that their child looked different than other children within

     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.

From this, the reader understands that Armand is attempting to assume a persona of the powerful aristocratic slave-owner. However, in this attempt, Armand demonstrates his very weakness: he is insecure and so must prove his strength. Another example of Armand’s weakness lies in his attempt to destroy all evidence relating to his relationship with Desiree. Armand feels that a marriage to a potentially black woman could be damaging to his to his place in society so he burns all of the evidence of her presence in his life: “In the centre of the smoothly swept back yard was a great bonfire, “ (Chopin 13). Although it is true that during the setting of the story, such a marriage could have been damaging, if he truly were a strong character, he would have defended his own beliefs and maintained his marriage. A final example of Armand’s weakness is in his discovery of a letter from his mother to his father and the reactions implied by the author. The letter carries details about Armand’s own race and how he is actually black. Armand’s implied reactions are that he will in fact take no action: despite the fact that Desiree was not of African descent, she will live her life in the belief that she is. This is the ultimate example of Armand’s weakness as he is too fearful of establishing his own identity to truly do so. Armand has been shown to be a weak, socially malleable character because of his internal

The story by Kate Chopin called Desiree’s Baby (1894) focuses on the slavery days of America. It takes place during Antebellum in Creole Louisiana. Kate Chopin’s purpose in this story is to show how too much emphasis on skin and racial heritage could destroy a loving family. Lying is never an okay thing to do, especially during the days when race could make or break you. Armand’s parents did wrong by lying to Armand, making him believe he was white. This caused the self-destruction of his family, owning with harsh treatment of slaves and lived a life as someone he never was to begin with.

“Desiree’s Baby” is a short story by Kate Chopin that examines the issues of sexism, classism, and racism and how these issues are often intertwined. Although the most prominent issue in the story is racism, Chopin emphasizes how differences among class and sex can reinforce racial discrimination. The story’s setting, taking place in the South prior to the American Civil War, sets the stage for these issues. Desiree, an adopted girl whose origin remains unknown, has recently had a baby with her husband, Armand. All seems well until they discover that their baby is of mixed race. Since slavery is still prominent at the time being, this poses a threat to Armand. Wanting to preserve his status as a respectable white man, he forces Desiree and the baby to leave, presuming that the African ancestry comes from Desiree. An ironic twist at the story’s close reveals that the African ancestry in the baby’s lineage actually comes from Armand. Chopin uses characterization through the story’s prominent characters, Desiree and Armand, to emphasize how the shame associated with the color of one’s skin causes the story to unfold in the manner that it does.