Desiree Baby

Desiree’s Baby Essay “Desiree’s Baby” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. The setting of this story is set in the 19th Century in Louisiana. This short story is a love story between Armand Aubigny and Desiree. “Desiree’s baby” begins like many love stories before it with love at first sight, but does not end like a typical romance novel due to its harsh ending. Armand begins to become progressively distant towards Desiree and her baby throughout the story due to Armand discovering that they are not white. Armand did know about his black ancestry before reading the letter because Armand was 8 years old when his mother passed, there is textual evidence that Armand already read the letter, and because Armand wasn’t in love with Desiree.
Armand knew about his true knowledge prior to reading the letter due to the fact that he was eight years old when his mother passed away in Paris. This part of the short story is so significant because at the age of eight, young Armand is able to distinguish the difference between blacks and whites. In the letter written by Armand’s mother, she states that the reason from moving to Paris from Louisiana is to “having their lives arranged.” This excerpt from the quote shows that Armand know his race from a young age because the whole reason to make such a distant move would be to escape the struggles that the blacks had to endure in America, allowing them to have a better life in Paris. Armand already knew about his ancestry before reading the letter because he left the letter written from his mother to his father, in a drawer filled with other letter from Desiree. “But above all, 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 pg.66) After reading this short story for the first time one might assume that Armand didn’t know about his ancestry but upon the seconding