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Desiree's Baby Foreshadowing Examples

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There are several examples of foreshadowing in Kate Chopin’s short story, “Desiree’s Baby” (Chopin, 1894). The first example of foreshadowing is Armand falling in love so quickly with Desiree. Another example is when Madame Valmonde goes to visit Desiree and her baby after a month and is shocked by the sight of him. Lastly, once the allegations against Desiree’s heritage are announced, in the final moment with Armand, Desiree points out that she is surprisingly fairer skinned than he.
Armand had known Desiree since they were children, but it was not until he saw her leaning against a stone pillar, years later, that he instantly fell in love with her (Chopin, 1894). All the Aubigny men had fallen in love quickly, “as if shot by a pistol” (Chopin, 1894, p. 1605). Additionally, this foreshadows how quickly Armand was then able to fall out of love with Desiree. His …show more content…

1606). Desiree knew she would be shocked at how much the baby had grown. Madame Valmonde had taken the baby over to the lightest window where she could get a better look at him. Madame Valmonde never took her eyes off the baby saying, “’Yes, the child has grown, has changed’” (Chopin, 1894, p. 1606). This is a significant example of foreshadowing because Desiree had not yet realized that the baby was African American. The neighbors and servants were talking and gossiping about her baby and coming from far to see him, which led Desiree to question things (Chopin, 1894). It all came together one morning and while her quadroon boy was fanning the baby. Desiree took note of the boy’s skin next to each other and realized that her baby had the same skin as the servant (Chopin, 1894). The foreshadowing was significant to the whole plot because it was such a heartbreaking shock once Desiree and Armand finally see the truth about their precious

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