I cannot be so unhappy, and live” (Chopin, 1894, p. 1608). Her mother’s response does not confirm nor deny these claims, and only asks Desiree to come home with the baby, for even her mother is unsure of Desiree’s true race (Chopin, 1894). Upon bringing the letter to Armand, he tells her to leave, breaking her heart. This letter foreshadows the event of Desiree’s suicide, killing not only herself, but her baby too (Chopin, 1894). Armand, having tossed her away like a worthless piece of property, has brought Desiree to the point of hopelessness.
Surely, only an opposing, selfish, and insensitive person could send their wife and child away upon realizing that they both were mixed race. In Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby”, however, protagonist, Desiree, is altered over just a few days as she goes from being thankful from the happiness of her husband and baby into saddened and betrayed by her lover. The story eventfully shows how racism and denial both play a part in the way the future may turn out. From the time that the story begins, one can see that the love between Armand and Desiree is what they say to be a dream come true. It’s the love that everyone asks for.
Soon after he began to notice that the baby 's complexion became darker and made the assumption that the child is not his or his wife was of mixed race. The sad truth of the situation was received when he soon later discovered he was the one of mixed race, he then regretted telling his wife to leave with the baby (Chopin). Kate Chopin uses the different characters to create a storyline that the conflict of the story has ironic. (LitCharts) One of the literary devices that Chopin uses is the characters.Characterization is the creation of a fictional character.The few characters that are in this story are
Chopin argues that only through death can one be finally freed. The author makes strong, yet subtle statements towards humanity and women’s rights. Through subtle symbolism, Kate Chopin demonstrates how marriage is more like a confining role of servitude rather than a
He is insensitive and would rather harm his own family (Gradesaver.com...1) Another example of irony occurs in the way that Madame Valmonde didn 't have a child of herself and one day while her husband was riding he comes upon a child just asleep next to a stone pillar (Chopin...Pg. 1) The family adopted the girl that had no family. “Madame Valmonde abandoned every speculation but the one that Desiree had been sent to her by a beneficent Providence to be the child of her affection” (Chopin...Pg. 1) To wind up my essay. “Desiree’s Baby was written by Kate Chopin and she talks about the issues people had back then with racism and gender.
The field was so rough it “tore her thing gown to shreds”(Chopin). Desiree has had everything and every opportunity given to her. She has never taken the ‘hard way’. Desiree taking this forgotten path shows her old life being left behind her and that things would not be easy for much
Armand questions Desiree about her heritage and accuses her of not being white since the baby they had is black. Desiree writes to Madame Valmondé and tells her about the situation and she begs her to come home, after Armand loses his wife and baby he finds out that it was not Desiree that was not white but him that came from a white father and black mother who died. (Chopin, Kate, et al. “Desiree 's Baby Summary.” GradeSaver: Getting you the grade). So, in “Desiree’s Baby”, Kate Chopin uses literary devices such as characterization, conflicts and
It turns out that the baby is of mixed race and Armand blames Desiree. In the end Armand tells Desiree to leave with her baby. Once she does, Armand finds out that his mother was really a slave, when he found a letter that was for his father and so he was the one who caused his child to be mixed. In “Desiree’s Baby”, Kate Chopin uses themes, characters, and symbols to develop the short story. The first literary device is theme which is the message about life or human nature that is “the focus” in the story that the writer tells (Glossary...3).
When Armand is getting rid of Desiree’s things, he finds a letter from his mother stating that he is the son of a slave. An analysis of Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby” shows the ways in which gender inequality, class and race play a large theme in mid-nineteenth century Southern culture. The gender inequality Chopin insinuates in her story is one that women still battle today. By buying Desiree corbeille gifts and fine clothes, she is treated as a possession by Armand. He seems to believe that by gifting these items to her, he can buy her – and her love.
Due to Armand turning the blind eye, he later faces the consequences by believing that Desiree did not come from a white family thus forcing Desiree to leave with her son. Chopin then later uses a new foreshadowing with Madame Valmonde, who is surprised to see Desiree’s baby, “This is not the baby” (2). While Madame Valmonde notices how the baby is different, Desiree takes her mother’s surprise as a surprise of how her baby has grown. However, Madame Valmonde seems to have a knowledge about the baby’s background as she looks at the baby in the new angle with sunlight and comparing the baby to La Blanche. Meanwhile, Desiree is blind by her love for her son that she does not take notice the color of her baby while her mother