Kate Chopin's Désirée's Baby is a cautionary tale, warning about the dangers of valuing human worth based on anything other than merit. In this story Armand's treatment of non-whites illustrates the prevailing hypocritical, sentiment of many whites in the south, in pre-emancipation Louisiana. This is best observed in the level of disdain that Armand holds for his enslaved blacks, his wife & child, and finally himself.
Armand is a white slave owner, proud of his race. The range of interactions with his enslaved blacks vary wildly based on his emotional state. "Young Aubigny’s rule was a strict one...his negroes had forgotten how to be gay, as they had been during the old master’s" (paragraph 6) This excerpt shows his original stance is a harsh one, and he feels it is appropriate to treat the enslaved based on the belief that they have very little worth. As the story continues, he begins to treat the enslaved with more leniency, not because of an increase in the perceived worth of the blacks but because of a personal joy in his life. Désirée relates that "he hasn’t punished one of th...
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
Throughout the story we are able to see that race and skin color is serious problem. Armand was in love with Desiree, but then he care more about having child with color eyes and light skin color. Even thought his mom wasn’t white, he ignores that and blames Desiree for not giving
Author Stanley Fish uses the three rhetorical appeals to support his argument throughout his article “Racism or How the Pot Call the Kettle Black”. Fish expresses in his article how different races have to live with their historical disadvantage throughout society, and how people who were victimized and tortured because of their race have earned their freedom and civil liberties. He goes on by implying that the hole concept of “reverse racism” is non-existent rather just another issue of what people of race/ ethnicity have to deal with due to their history with racism.
Racism and slavery will forever stay written in our history books. There are thousands of books, articles, encyclopedias, and short stories that try to depict it, even until now. Rarely some can barely come close to describe the feelings and emotions felt during that era. One of those heart opening stories is “Désirée’s Baby”; a short story that speaks about a conflicted family living in that tense era. The setting of the story helps create tension because it talks about the post-civil war era, the tension in the divided country and the small town that enhanced discrimination.
“Desiree Baby” by Kate Chopin is a very thought provoking short story that deals with racism, prejudice, and love. The story takes place in southern Louisiana, where Armand, a prominent landowner, marries a girl of unknown origin named Desiree. The story has a twist when their baby is born and is discovered to be of mixed race. Armand knew all along that he was OF mixed race, and I will prove it by analyzing characterization, diction, and imagery.
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.
Although Armand truly loved Desiree, his love wasn’t stronger than protecting his family’s status. He knew from the beginning that it was he who was not white. Hoping that his child would not come out black, he still took precautions by marrying a woman with an unknown origin to put the blame on. He hated himself for what he truly was and he was not going to let anyone know his secret and have that kind of power over him. It was never Desiree’s fault and she ended up suffering when it was really Armand’s doing.
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,
Regionalism is a type of literature that focuses on a certain region and portrays the region’s characteristics and customs. This is shown throughout the story when Chopin discusses racism in Louisiana and the treatment of slaves during that time. Chopin pointing out the different cultural characteristics and customs was not meant to divide people, but rather bring American citizens together in unity despite the differences. Local color can also be found in this short story. Chopin investigates the dangers of mixed women in a racist society, and she examines the complex changes taking place in women’s lives. Désirée’s Baby also represents naturalism because Chopin focuses on how interracial mixing was forbidden during the post-Civil War era. Yes, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery, but that doesn’t mean discrimination against African Americans came to a halt. This story represents the discrimination they continued to face, and the baby represent African Americans as victims in society. From a historical perspective one would assume that this short story was written during a time when slavery was legal, but it wasn’t. Kate Chopin wrote Désirée’s Baby twenty-seven years after the Thirteenth Amendment was passed. During the Reconstruction Era African Americans were still facing discrimination. This story was written as a reflection of the
Like Shylock in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the black slave women are dehumanized by the other characters in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point” and Harriet A. Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself. Sexually harassed by their white masters, these slave women are forbidden to express the human emotion of love. Pressured into a shamed motherhood, they cannot love their children in the same ways that a white mother can. Moreover, slave women are treated like chattels. The black women in Browning and Jacobs’ works are oppressed sexually, forced into unwanted motherhoods, and stripped of their identities. Yet, because they face these cruelties with courage and dignity, these black slaves emerge as heroines of their own fates.
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.
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 America, the 1890s were a decade of tension and social change. A central theme in Kate Chopin’s fiction was the independence of women. In Louisiana, most women were their husband’s property. The codes of Napoleon were still governing the matrimonial contract. Since Louisiana was a Catholic state, divorce was rare and scandalous. In any case, Edna Pontellier of Chopin had no legal rights for divorce, even though Léonce undoubtedly did. When Chopin gave life to a hero that tested freedom’s limits, she touched a nerve of the politic body. However, not Edna’s love, nor her artistic inner world, sex, or friendship can reconcile her personal growth, her creativity, her own sense of self and her expectations. It is a very particular academic fashion that has had Edna transformed into some sort of a feminist heroine. If she could have seen that her awakening in fact was a passion for Edna herself, then perhaps her suicide would have been avoided. Everyone was forced to observe, including the cynics that only because a young