In the short story Désirée’s Baby, by Kate Chopin, surprise plays a very important role. Although the story has a surprise ending it can still have a second look with interest. While rereading the story I look for the details, which foreshadow the ending, that were missed the first time reading the story. But when I started to look for hints of foreshadowing I found that Chopin is doing more than tell us a story about a couple. She is trying to convey a message to the reader. Désirée’s Baby is like an intricate Aesop’s fable, or a fable for adults. Also an analysis of the characters helps us understand the story and it’s meaning. The main character, which presents the conflict in the story, is Armand Aubigny. To fully understand the story and its elements we must look carefully at Armand and his erratic behavior.
One of the major aspects of Armand is his unpredictability. First he falls in love with Désirée without any sign, later he changes his moods back and forth in how he treats his own slaves, and how he treats his own wife, Désirée. “Marriage, and later the birth of his son had soften Armand Aubigny’s imperious and exacting nature greatly.”(Chopin, 82). And then after about three months he automatically changed. “Then a strange, an awful change in her husband’s manner, which she dared not ask of him to explain.”(Chopin 82). Armand is constantly changing his character, and it scares not only Désirée but the reader too, because we have no idea what he will do next or why.
After the story is reread, the reader learns to distrust and in a way deal with Armand’s behavior. We get used to him and we don’t expect too much from him. “That was the way all of the Aubignys fell in love, as if struck by a pistol shot.” (81). This quote not only refers to how the Aubignys fall in love but how they go about solving their problems. The Aubigny family is very stubborn and one-track minded. When there is a problem to be resolved it is their way or no way. When Armand saw that his child was black, his only explanation was that Désirée was black. He didn’t even think about the other possibilities. That is probably why Madame Valmondé wrote back to Désirée to come home, because it is no use to argue with Armand.
Not only does the reader have to cope with Armand’s stubbornness, but also so does Désirée. Désirée loves Armand so much, that when Armand’s mood suddenly chan...
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... love with a woman, and then later finding out that she is his long lost sister. Now he can’t even bare to look at her. He feels stupid for ever falling in love with her, so stupid that it couldn’t of possibly his fault. Never are we in fault.
Finding out that Armand is actually the one that is black leaves the reader feeling satisfied that he got what was coming to him. But was it Armand that got what was coming to him, or was it the reader? It is very hard to find fault within oneself.
When we analyzed the story of Désirée’s Baby, we can’t find any foreshadowing of the ending. We have hints that lead us in the opposite direction. When we analyze the characters it is obvious that our first reaction is to blame Armand. He is an unpredictable, egotistical little worm. But Kate Chopin forces the reader to blame him or herself instead of Armand. Even though it is hard to catch the meaning of the story the first time around, the moral is still subconsciously implanted in our heads when we laugh at Armand. If you think about it you would not have done any better. The well-known Aesop’s fables teach the children of morals and good behavior. However adults need to be reminded as well.
There is a lot to talk about Armand character in the short story of Desiree’s baby. In the beginning of the story, he is such a great person he loves Desiree. This quote “beautiful and gentle” shows that Armand is fall in love with her. However, his character change, when he found out that baby wasn’t white. His character of being a good husband to a cruel husband. The story clearly explains his initial character and final character. I believe he is not pitiable at all because he shows his cruelty character toward Desiree and not only that, he cares about his social standing, which motivates him. When he bought “fine clothing and layettle” this shows a symbolic object of wealth and his possession of Desiree. He wouldn’t act in a cruel way if
“Desiree’s Baby” can represent a timeframe status of how slavery and race were a factor that defined people. Armand was very ambiguous by the tone he would had towards Desiree and by his action. Desiree was faithful to her husband, in the other hand we are able to understand or presumed that La Blanche’s boy looked very alike as Desiree’s baby, which most likely Armand might be the father of both kids. Armand was in love at first, but then his pride and ambiguous.
In Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” allows one to explore many ironic instances throughout the story, the main one in which a woman unpredictably feels free after her husband’s assumed death. Chopin uses Mrs. Mallard’s bizarre story to illustrate the struggles of reaching personal freedom and trying to be true to yourself to reach self-assertion while being a part of something else, like a marriage. In “The Story of an Hour” the main character, Mrs. Mallard, celebrates the death of her husband, yet Chopin uses several ironic situations and certain symbols to criticize the behavior of Mrs. Mallard during the time of her “loving” husband’s assumed death.
The characterization of Armand showed that he knew all along about his ethnicity. Armand wanted to cope with his insecurities and feel to his slaves, which is evident in the following example: “…young Aubigny’s rule was strict and under it his Negroes had forgotten, how to be gay as they had been during their old master who was easy going and indulgent in his lifetime” (Chopin 708). Armand was afraid people in the community might get to know about his secret. For example, when Desiree is confronting him, she asks, “Do you want me to go?” (710). Armand replies, “Yes I want you to go” (710). Armand immediately makes up his mind to allow her t...
In the story of “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, there are many literary themes that can be analyzed such as love, racism, gender inequality, and miscegenation. What this analysis will focus on is primarily on the central male character, Armand Aubigny, and on his views towards racism. More specifically, what this essay will aim to prove is that Armand Aubigny looked down upon the African race to the point where he hated them. One of the biggest driving points to aid this idea is how his family name shaped his behavior and actions according to the societal normalities of his time period. Another important aspect that will be considered is his very relationship towards his slaves in how he treated them cruelly even to the point where he is described as “having the spirit of Satan” (Chopin 3). In addition to this, the reader will also see Armand’s negative reaction to being aware of the implications of his son and wife having mixed blood in where he practically disowns them. With all this culminating to Armand finding out the ugly truth that the race he had treated so horribly is actually a part of his very own blood as well.
... be part of that race. He did not want his well looked upon family name to be ruined. He was portrayed as a man who had it all. He had a reputation to keep maintained and Armand being part black would have ruined it. He owned a plantation and was a slave master. Racism did play a major role because when Armand found out that the baby was mixed everything changed such as Armand’s mood and Desiree’s happiness. She seemed to be very jolly and happy. Armand was also content. He was pleasant to the slaves. After he saw his child growing to be mixed it changed his whole attitude. He did not love the child genuinely because love is unconditional. He was more concerned about the race of the child. This was a great short story to read and it gave me insight on the importance and seriousness of our society back then. I am glad we have overcome these terrible racial matters.
“Desiree was happy when she had the baby and Armand was as happy and nice to the slaves then before but after he saw his child growing to be mixed it changed his whole attitude” (Griffin). This shows how the story takes place during slavery time, since the husband was a slave.
Kate Chopin’s The Awakening should be seen as depicting the discontentment that comes from self-gratification rather than the glorification of delighting in one’s fantasies. Chopin describes the central idea of one who is seeking to please her personal needs and desires and, in the process, neglects to notice how her actions affect others. The protagonist, Edna, is not able to find peace or happiness in the accepted daily life that a woman of her era and social status should have. The fulfilling of her desires could essentially cause social ostracism for her, her husband, and her children, yet she is unable to find repose in living the typical social Victorian life. The final resolve of her “awakening” to her desires, her ultimate suicide, is not an honorable position that women should strive toward as a romantic ideal because her desires were hopeless in her situation. Through Edna’s striving for personal satisfaction, she loses the joys that daily life has to offer.
Kate Chopin's The Awakening is a terrific read and I am hardly able to put it down! I am up to chapter XV and many of the characters are developing in very interesting ways. Edna is unfulfilled as a wife and mother even though she and her husband are financially well off. Her husband, Leonce Pontellier, is a good husband and father but he has only been paying attention to his own interests. At this point he is unaware of the fact that his wife's needs are not being met. Robert and the other characters are equally intriguing but something else has piqued my interest. Some of Chopin's characters are not fully developed. I know that these are important characters because they are representative of specific things; they are metaphoric characters. In particular, I've noticed the lovers and the lady in black. I'm fascinated by the fact that both the lovers and the lady in black are completely oblivious to the rest of the world. They are also in direct contrast with each another. For this week's reader response I am taking a different approach. Rather than analyzing the main characters, I will examine the lovers and the lady in black.
Kate Chopin provides her reader with an enormous amount of information in just a few short pages through her short story, “The Story of an Hour.” The protagonist, Louise Mallard, realizes the many faults in romantic relationships and marriages in her epiphany. “Great care [is] taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death” (Chopin 168). Little do Josephine and Richards know, the news will have a profoundly positive effect on Louise rather than a negative one. “When she abandoned herself,” Mrs. Mallard opened her mind to a new way of life. The word usage shows that the protagonist experienced a significant change. This life wouldn’t be compromised by her partner’s will, which will enable her to live for herself during the years to come. Her epiphany occurs exactly when she frees herself to new ideas and the prospect of individuality rather than dependency. This gives her a new sense of assertiveness and ability to live her life according to her own will. This epiphany is established by Chopin’s use of foreshadowing, Mrs. Mallard’s acquisition of new information, and the changes that this information sparks.
In her story, Desiree’s Baby, Kate Chopin underlined the contrast between lust and love, exploring the problem of a man’s pride that exceeded the love he has for his wife. Armand, the main character of the story, is a slave owner who lived in Louisiana during the era of slavery. He married an adopted young woman, Desiree, and together they have a son who eventually became an obstacle in the way of his father’s happiness, thus removing out the true character of Armand. Desiree’s Baby, by Kate Chopin is a love story, love that ultimately proved to be a superficial love, a story that shed light on the ugly relationships between people. “Lust is temporary, romance can be nice,
In 'Desiree?s Baby,' Chopin illustrates her idea of the relationship between men and women by portraying Desiree as vulnerable and easily affected, whereas Armand is presented as superior and oppressive. Throughout ?Desiree?s Baby,? Kate Chopin investigates the concept of Armand's immense power over Desiree. At first, Desiree tries to conform to the traditional female role by striving to be an obedient wife. Later in the story, this conformity changes after Desiree gives birth to her part-black son.
The Marquis’ father made up for the loss of his mother by having a close relationship with his son, but that did not help the negative opinion the young child was already forming about women. The personality conflicts that later arise in de Sade’s life are said to come from his hatred of women because his mother was not present in his childhood (Lever 14). The relationship between the father and son was described as “This symbiosis was undeniably emotional, a pr...
In “Desiree’s Baby,” Kate Chopin writes about the life of a young lady and her new family. In this short story, the fond couple lived in Louisiana before the American Civil War. Chopin illustrates the romantic atmosphere between Armand and Desiree. Chopin also describes the emotion of the parents for their new born. When the baby was born, Armand’s heart had softened on behalf of others. One afternoon, Desiree and the baby were relaxing in a room with a young boy fanning them with peacock feathers. As they were relaxing, Desiree had sniffed a threatening scent. Desiree desired Armand’s assistance as she felt faint from the odor that she could not comprehend. Armand had denied the request his wife sent. Therefore, he cried out that she nor the baby were white. Thus, Desiree took the baby and herself and walked into the bayou and they were never seen again. In this short story, Chopin illustrates the psychological abuse Desiree faces from her husband.
In the story of an hour, Kate Chopin uses many literary devices. Imagery, irony and symbolism makes the story interesting and the ending of the story raises many question came to my mind? How can such an event take so little time? What is the significant of that one hour? What does her heart trouble symbolize? These are some questions that came across my mind and the beauty of her writing is the symbolism and ironies she used and readers can have different interpretation.