Desiree’s loss of identity as a wife is one clear example within the reading. Near the beginning of her story, Chopin alludes to this when she states, “what does it matter about a name when he could give her the oldest and proudest in Louisiana” (81). This implies that upon marriage Desiree will lose her identity and become “Armand’s wife”. Furthermore, this prevailing gender inequality is also seen in Desiree’s submissive nature. When Chopin describes the change in Armand’s character she says, “which she dared not ask him to explain” (82); showing the non-confrontational attitude coming from Desiree.
“ Marriage, and later the birth of his so had softened Armand Aubigny’s imperious and exacting nature greatly.” Signifying that Armand had calmed and settled down once he meet her, he was so in love with Desiree. After a while and 3 months had passed y of the baby’s birth Armand’s attitude had changed she didn’t want to ask but it made her unhappy. Armand didn’t want his family legacy to be ruined because the baby wasn’t white which he believes Desiree wasn’t white either which isn’t the women he fell in love with. This can conclude the fact that people weren’t supportive of interracial relationships and how because of the baby’s skin color Armand’s attitude changed just cause he didn’t want his reputation to be ruined. Desiree still loved
The first being the dissolution of his marriage, and later the knowledge that he was in fact at fault for the change. At the end of the story as he is divesting himself of Desiree’s belongings, he comes across a letter from his own deceased mother which reads,” night and day, I than good God for having arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery” (Chopin), which brings him to his epiphany. The fact that he did not know could be because of his parents’ choice to raise him abroad where the stigma of slavery did not exist. Maybe she was light skinned enough that she could pass for a white woman. We may never know how this accomplishment was carried out, but it is evident that Armand now knew, that although his son was bi-racial, it was his lineage, not Desiree’s, at fault.
Throughout the short story entitled “Desiree’s Baby,” Kate Chopin includes many examples of racial and gender bias through irony, element of surprise, and symbolism to support that Armand was unaware of his past and ethnic origin, only learning about his parentage from reading a letter discovered at the end of the story. In the story, Armand, the father and plantation owner, treated his slaves with no respect or human decency just as his father treated slaves growing up. Due to his lighter skin tone, Armand believed it made him much superior to the African American slaves. Chopin states “...the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slaves”(2). This evidence shows the reader how the slaves viewed him as their owner, which was not in a positive light.
During the era in which this short story was written, southern authors had a major influence on the way the culture was going to grow with racism, and also the way people loved each other. Kate Chopin, a traditional author who believed in southern ways, exemplifies how race and the characteristics of conditional love played a role in her story. In “Desiree’s Baby,” the author, Kate Chopin, provides an illustration of conditional love exemplified by the character, Armand, towards his wife and child; furthermore, Chopin provides instances of irony, elements of surprise, foreshadowing, and symbolism to prove that Armand’s love for both of them was not the unconditional love typically felt and portrayed by women, such as Desiree, during this era. Throughout the story, the readers notice different times where Chopin uses elements of surprise. One major surprise is when Armand opens the letter from his mother and finds out that he has African American in his bloodline.
Throughout the Short Story “Desiree’s Baby”, Kate Chopin used a lot of Irony. In this article you'll see many of dramatic Irony. Dramatic Irony is used in this story because, Armand is Really Black and Desiree is really white. In the short story of “desiree’s baby” Desiree and Armand race a baby, that they think is white. However society thinks Armand is white,because of his appearance,therefore he is able to inherit his father’s property.
As was expected of the time, plantation owner’s had to broadcast certain opinions about people of color. This derogatory view become a standard for the South and other opinions that differed from this were frowned upon. Kate Chopin, in her story Desiree’s Baby describes a letter about Armand’s race, “’But, above all,’ she wrote, ‘night and day, I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery’” (Chopin, 4). Armand was raised white, his father keeping his black mother a secret from the world. We can piece together information to infer that not every person in the South held black people in such a deprecating way.
This led to the relationship between property and property owner on the hierarchy. Chopin shows her understanding of this system when portraying the relationship between Armand and the slaves on his plantation. Chopin says, “Young Aubigny’s rule was a strict one, too, and under it his slaves had forgotten how to be gay, as they had been during the old master’s easy-going and indulgent lifetime” (2). His reputation as the owner allowed Armand to feel control over his slaves and treat them
With this bundle of letters is also one written from his mother to his father, saying, “ night and day, I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery “ (5) revealing that Armand is the one who is part black, by his mother 's ancestry (Chopin). The symbolism in a short story is a person, place, or thing that represents something beyond itself, most often something concrete or tangible that represents an abstract idea. (Glossary…2) Kate Chopin’s use of symbol help develop the themes in
Desiree’s baby is a short story that opens with Madame Valmonde visiting Desiree and her baby.Desiree is married to a man named Armand Aubigny who had fallen in love with Desiree when he sees her standing against the stone pillar, even though they knew each other since they were small children, ever since Armand and his father came from Paris, after his mother died. Having had been told Desiree’s origin should be examined flew by him as Armand was so in love that he does not care about Desiree’s ancestors and decides it does not matter that she does not have a family name of her own in the end the two married and then bore the baby.Madame Valmonde has a surprise awaiting her. She has not seen the baby for a month and when she arrives to L’Abri