Desiree's Baby Literary Analysis Essay
Analysis of Desiree’s Baby
The short story, "Desiree’s Baby," written by Kate Chopin, was set in south of America at a time where African Americans were inferior to whites and often worked as slaves. This story explores pride, social status and most importantly race versus love. The story takes an unexpected turn when Armand, Desiree’s husband, becomes aware that his son is not white "that the child is not white; it means that you are not white." Even true love and one’s own flesh and blood cannot defeat a man’s pride and importance of social status.
The story begins with Madame Valmonde going to visit her daughter “Desiree had been sent to her by a beneficent providence to be the child of her affection, seeing that she was without child of flesh.” To the Valmonde family race was not as important as it was for Armand. The Valmonde family accepted a "nameless" …show more content…
Desiree tells her mom how “Armand is the proudest father in the parish” and that “he hasn’t punished one of them” to “an awful change in her husband’s manner” and “the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slaves.” Armand was very proud and happy with his life; however he could not accept not having a "white" baby. He believed that having a black child would be a disgrace to his family. He spoke to his wife with “averted eyes” and “he absented himself from home…avoided her presence and that of her child.” Madame Valmonde states, "This is not the baby!" For months' he did not see his child as "not white" until "an unexpected visits from far-off neighbor" which may have opened up his eyes to realize that the baby is not white. He was so in love with Desiree and his child that he was blinded. Also throughout the story Armand never accused Desiree of cheating. This also supports the fact that he had knowledge of his race and due to his pride he could not accept anything but a white
The short story, "Desiree’s Baby," written by Kate Chopin, was set in south of America at a time where African Americans were inferior to whites and often worked as slaves. This story explores pride, social status and most importantly race versus love. The story takes an unexpected turn when Armand, Desiree’s husband, becomes aware that his son is not white "that the child is not white; it means that you are not white." Even true love and one’s own flesh and blood cannot defeat a man’s pride and importance of social status.
The story begins with Madame Valmonde going to visit her daughter “Desiree had been sent to her by a beneficent providence to be the child of her affection, seeing that she was without child of flesh.” To the Valmonde family race was not as important as it was for Armand. The Valmonde family accepted a "nameless" …show more content…
Desiree tells her mom how “Armand is the proudest father in the parish” and that “he hasn’t punished one of them” to “an awful change in her husband’s manner” and “the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slaves.” Armand was very proud and happy with his life; however he could not accept not having a "white" baby. He believed that having a black child would be a disgrace to his family. He spoke to his wife with “averted eyes” and “he absented himself from home…avoided her presence and that of her child.” Madame Valmonde states, "This is not the baby!" For months' he did not see his child as "not white" until "an unexpected visits from far-off neighbor" which may have opened up his eyes to realize that the baby is not white. He was so in love with Desiree and his child that he was blinded. Also throughout the story Armand never accused Desiree of cheating. This also supports the fact that he had knowledge of his race and due to his pride he could not accept anything but a white