Who Is The Protagonist In Desiree's Baby

In “Desiree Baby”, author, Chopin emphasizes racism by selecting certain words to symbolize the association between light and darkness, and the slaves on the plantation.

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

What sets Desirée apart in terms of her subjugation by Armand? It is not race, but the lack thereof. Desirée is unable to hide anything about herself because her origins are unknown (Chopin 401). She is a willing captive to Armand as a result of her love and her marriage, but she is not an unwilling captive to race; she is an unwilling captive to her otherness. She does not have doubts about her race, but must live with the reality that “Armand has told me I am not white” (Chopin 404). Because her origins are unknown and she does not have a name, she must acquiesce to the whims of Armand, who had at first decided to be unconcerned about “the girl’s obscure origins” (Chopin 401). Armand is the power here. He makes all of the decisions regarding the lives of those within his circle of power, and he does so because he is allowed to do so. Madam

Desiree’s decision to take the life of her child and her own is motivated by a desire to protect her son from the situation he has been born into and her own somewhat selfish inability to envision a new life. Desiree had an outlet from the hellish atmosphere on the plantation in the form of her loving mother, Madame Valmonde, who offered asylum and support in a letter that instructs Desiree to return home with her son (Chopin 418). She chose to ignore this olive branch because it simply did not compute with her that a life existed outside of her marriage with Armand and thus she chose death for both herself and her child (Korb). Desiree’s demise is rooted in the fact that her unknown familial ties made her completely helpless and unable to provide proof that she was indeed not a part of the African American race further illustrating the power of familial status that existed at the time and its ruthlessness towards those who were considered lowly people.

These insights are on the topic of Chopin’s view of feminism. Chopin portrays Desiree as a very virtuous and woman. However, Armand Aubigny is portrayed as an individual to be feared and not a very likeable character in general. Armand falsely accused Desiree for the blackness in their baby, as he knows well that he “belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery” (Chopin 632). In the heated argument between Armand and Desiree, Desiree pleads to Armand that she is not black and is white to which Armand rudely responds “As white as La Blanche’s” (Chopin 631). Furthermore, Chopin’s portrayal of the other women is positive with no glaring character flaws in Mme. Valmondé and Armand’s mother. Valmondé is described as a loving mother to the orphaned Desiree. Furthermore, her loving attributes are highlighted as she asks Desiree to return home. Overall, in “Desiree’s Baby”, the description of the female is much more positive than that of the male as portrays the respectable characters of Desiree and Aubigny who are contrasted with despicable characters like Armand.

“Désirée’s Baby” is a story of love, prejudice and rejection, a story with noble beginnings that

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.

In the short story, Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin, there are many larger statements being made within the entirety of the story about race and racism in the 1800’s. While this short story takes place in 1892, which was twenty-seven years after slavery was originally abolished. The author places this story in the era of slavery, where racism within this story is highly evident and plays a key role within the dynamics of Desiree’s and Armand’s relationship, as well as Armand’s view of his mixed child. Kate Chopin uses Armand’s and Desiree’s relationship to tell a story about a man who has everything, a strong family name, wealth, slaves, and a very beautiful wife and first born son. However, regardless of this, once Armand finds out that his

     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.

Kate Chopin is a renowned author of the twentieth century. She is famous for her short stories that were written in the late 1800’s. Most of her works were published in magazines at the time but were a posthumous success because of societal dissent. The beliefs and values exhibited in her works of literature are far ahead of their time by representing women’s desire for independence from being a homemaker. One of her most popular short stories, “Desiree’s Baby,” shows how women had no choice over their own fate and were bound by the will of their husbands during Chopin’s lifetime. It was not well received by the public until years after Chopin’s death because the story draws sympathetic feelings towards the situation in which the main character Desiree finds herself in. In “Desiree’s Baby,” Chopin uses symbolism and irony to present the message of how the innocent suffer unjustly as a result of judgmental attitudes; she does this through the main characters of Armand and Desiree.

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.

Kate Chopin’s “Désirée 's Baby” was set in the days before the abolition of slavery, at a time when the ownership of another person was not only acceptable, but also economically impactful in the south. It was normal to see big plantations owned by whites and tendered by black slaves. We see all of this and more in “Désirée’s Baby”. One of the characters, Monsieur Valmonde finds an abandoned baby one day while out riding. His wife, Madam Valmonde, does not have a child of her own so she takes the baby in and names her Désirée. Madam Valmonde and her husband, Monsieur Valmonde raises the child, until she is old enough to become married. Her attractiveness and especially white skin attract Monsieur Armand Aubigny, a plantation owner, and they immediately become married and have a child. Désirée and Armand both originally associate themselves with the white class, but once the plot unveils their black heritage they are faced with uncertainty, and ultimately their lives become meaningless and not worth living. Throughout the story, Kate Chopin uses symbolism to convey her themes of racial biasness and social ladder in a society. The characters and the setting in this short story help provide the readers with more understanding of how racially charged our society was at that time.

At the beginning of the story, Desiree is introduced as an abandoned child; she is adopted and made a part of the Valmondes’ family, she later she marries Armand Aubigny, and becomes a mother. The reader knows little almost to nothing about the main character Desiree, which could be Chopin portraying women in that time having lack of identity and individuality. The baby is also introduced by having no identity other than to its mother, the baby never given a name other than being referred to as "Desiree's baby. " Relating the baby only to Desiree and not Armand, in so Chopin can make relations to Armand and his attitude to the baby. In Armand’s opinion because of the mixed racial heritage of the child, the baby is solely Desiree’s responsibility and not his because he believed he could not be accountable of a baby of African

Chopin's story Desiree's Baby is another other works that utilizes regionalism and naturalism. She once again uses dialect to set the tone of the story. The characters speak French as was common with Cajun and Creole communities. She also chose to focus on slavery and the anti-blackness that was prevalent during that time. Naturalism is also present in Desiree's Baby. The lead character is shunned for possibly being multiracial, something that is out of her control. The story starts off as a love story and quickly becomes a no frill, wake up call

Foster and LeJeune’s critique discloses the idea that Desiree’s flee into the bayou is her first act of independence since she had been with Armand. “Chopin presents Desiree-as a character- illustrated how the human spirit often suffers from powerlessness.” (Short Story Criticism, vol.171 Foster and LeJeune,pg 155) From the time that Desiree and Armand tied the knot, she was no longer her own person, but solely Armands property. “Armand never calls Desiree by name; thus , he never affords her a title.” (Short Story Criticism, vol.171 Foster and LeJeune,pg 155) This emphasizes the Desiree’s identity becomes lost within the male's identity even moreso once Desiree bares Armand’s child which shows African American characteristics. The idea of Armand’s child not being purely white, altered Armand’s character towards Desiree which left Desiree with no choice other than to leave his side with her child. “As Chopin narrates: She [Desiree] disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou: and she did not come back again.” ( Short Story Criticism, vol.171 Foster and LeJeune,pg 157) Foster and LeJeune stated “It is by fleeing that she avoids such loss when she escapes to the “reeds and willows”.” ( Short Story Criticism, vol.171 Foster and Jeune,pg 157) This insinuates that Desiree’s choice to leave, was a her choice to disembark her state of oppression and embark on her new life independence from