When I think about starting over, I am often reminded of Armand in the story of “Desiree Baby”. Armand, the protagonist in the story built a bonfire in the efforts of trying to erase away the memory of his wife Desiree, and his son. Armand’s bonfire symbolizes Armand wanting to start over and forget his past. Throughout the short story many elements of symbolism was used to convey a central message those include discussing symbols of racism, social class distinction, and the symbolic elements involving the difference between the gender roles.
In “Desiree Baby”, author, Chopin emphasizes racism by selecting certain words to symbolize the association between light and darkness, and the slaves on the plantation.
The association between light and darkness played a major role in the outcome of this story. Desiree the wife of Armand was always associated with things of lightness. After Desiree was recovering from just given birth to their son she laid on the couch in her “soft white muslins and lace” (Valencia Community College). When Desiree confronts her husband about the race of their child Desiree skin pigmentation is whiter than her husbands. Desiree shows Armand the letter from Valmonde, the book says she was resembled a stone image white and motionless. In October when Desiree was abandoned Armand she left still wearing the white thin garment and slippers. Armand and the baby were always associated with darkness throughout the story. Armand skin complexion was darker than his wife’s. The story also describes Armand face as being dark and handsome. The baby association with darkness came when the baby was lying across Desiree mahogany bed. Mahogany is some dark brown colored wood. Another comparison of the chi...
... middle of paper ...
...haracter, Zandrine, helps add on to the story and the progression of Armand’s developing character.
Leading towards the end of the story, Armand builds a bonfire on the pyre. The bonfire symbolized Armand getting rid of all his memories of his wife and child. Throughout this paper I have shared Chopin’s use of symbolic elements by discussing symbols of racism, social class distinction, and the symbolic elements involving the difference between the gender roles. At the end of the story Armand reads a letter from his mom to his father. Armand finds out that his mother is from the African descent after; he has lost his marriage and family.
Works Cited
Cummings, Michael. "Cummings Study Guide." Cummings Study Guide. Michael Cummings, 2010. Web. 25 Mar 2011.
"Desiree Baby." Valencia Community College. Valencia Community College, n.d. Web. 26 Mar 2011.
Armand feels like he is the victim of betrayal by his wife Désirée. As the baby gets older it is clear that the baby is not white. Armand’s attitude quickly makes him assume that Désirée is not white giving Armand a feeling of deception. He denounces his love for Désirée and the child and casts them out of the house and his life. Désirée is stricken with grief about her treatment by Armand. She cannot believe how a man who loves her so much could treat her with such hostility and cruelty. Désirée develops a negative attitude towards herself and her baby. She is upset that she cannot change how Armand thinks of her because of her baby. This attitude causes Désirée to walk out of Armand’s life forever to her demise. Core beliefs also give to human behavior in “Samuel” and “Desiree’s
Application of the hypodescent rule, while not yet written into law, had been a tradition in American racial categorization since the start of slavery. In her short story, “Désirée’s Baby,” Kate Chopin addresses the practice as it was applied in the “one-drop rule,” the notion that an individual with white complexion may be deemed black by society given the presence of any African ancestry. Chopin eloquently places Désirée, the story’s protagonist, at the intersection of the two races, highlighting the flaws and inadequacies of the one-drop rule. The plots progression, culminating in Désirée’s removal from white society and possible death, may indicate a text working to criticize racial prejudice; however, such interpretations become increasingly difficult to maintain in light of Chopin’s heavily racist undertones. Placing the dominant theory of racial assignment under a microscope, “Désirée’s Baby” works toward the conclusion that the one-drop rule is not only flawed by the unfortunate repercussions the method leads to, but essentially doomed by the absurdity of the concepts it stands upon. While it may seem contradictory, Chopin’s conclusion is strengthened by the use of an implicitly prejudiced text, a tactic allowing for the further scrutiny of social mores within a system they were designed to uphold.
Kate Chopin, is a master of words, which she has proven once again with Desiree’s baby. Right from the beginning, “Chopin”, uses the symbol of the Stone pillar where Baby Desiree was found sleeping within the shadow of the pillar. The stone pillar will be the beginning, middle and the end and the shadow tells the reader that it will most likely not be a good outcome. The L’abri, the Aubigny plantation, is the symbol of the family’s secret which later will be the betrayal Armand falsely dealt to Desiree. However, the use of colors in Desiree’s Baby, captures the feelings and emotions on a deeper level. The use of the color white, for instance, reflects the innocence of Desiree, as well as, purity and the likeness of an angel, which had been referred to twice in the story, once in the beginning when Madame Valmonde referred to Desiree as an angel from heaven sent to her and in the end as Desiree walked across the field to the bayou to her death. “Chopin” also uses Yellow in two different ways, one being the color of the stucco home, which could reflect to a happier time-period that has now faded, and once more when yellow is also used to define the skin tone of the nurse. The menacing use of black gives the reader the chills knowing the dark, eerie feelings of the plantation and the cruel heartless emotions of Armand. Black also gives an in-depth account of the many
When Désirée had the baby, her mother noticed immediately that something was wrong with the baby; Madame Valmonde screamed “This is not the baby!” It wasn’t until when the baby was 3 months old that Désirée noticed the appearance of the baby and demanded an answer from Armand. Armand noticed this early already, so he told Désirée that she was at fault for the baby being black, “It means,” he answered lightly, “that the child is not white; it means that you are not white” (424). Désirée believed this because no one knew of her past. This distinctly shows how Désirée’s character lives to learn how close racism and male dominance can get in Southern life. For instance, when Armand says, “The child is not white; it means that you are not white” (424). This is when Armand realizes his wife is not the same as he is, and from this moment on, wants nothing to do with either her or their child. In the beginning of the story, Armand was deeply in love with Désirée, and still was, until the moment he realized their baby was not white. This is a glimpse of how life was in the South. Chopin offers a compelling vision of the class-based and racial prejudice of the South. As many critics would agree, Chopin’s stories have “the freshness which springs from an unexplored field—the quaint and picturesque life among the Creole and Acadian folk of the
Women were supposed to bring their husbands and children to the light of God. Desiree’s husband Armand was humiliated and ashamed when he realized his son was mixed with a race that was “cursed with the brand of slavery”. His way of getting “back at God for dealing cruelly with him” was through hurting his wife, showing that
Imagine finding out that your entire life was a lie, and that every single thing you knew about your identity and your family was completely false! Armand Aubigny, one of the main characters in Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin, experiences this exact dilemma throughout this short story. Desiree’s Baby is a story about a young man and woman, who fall in love, but Desiree, who does not know her birth parents, is considered nameless. When she and Armand have a child, they are both very surprised because the child’s skin color is not white as expected. It is obvious that the child is biracial, and immediately, Desiree is blamed for the color of the child’s skin because of her uncertain background. The truth, however, is that it is Armand who has lived his entire life as a biracial person without even knowing his true heritage! This problem frames the rest of the events in the story, and the ultimate demise of both of these characters.
This makes us think that she he had been abandoned at a very young age
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.
Racism dates back thousands and thousands of years back to the caveman times. In the short story “Desiree’s Baby”, Kate Chopin shows how discrimination by skin color can affect people. Desiree was abandoned and raised by Madame Valmonde. Armand, the father of the baby, was a member of the most notable families in Louisiana. He falls in love with Desiree and marries her. After they have a baby, their relationship quickly corrodes. A few months later, Armand realizes the baby’s skin has a darker tint than usual. He accuses Desiree of being black. Armand tells Desiree he wants her to leave so Desiree takes the baby and “disappears among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou” (Chopin 91) and never returns. Armand finds out that Desiree is black when he reads a letter that her mother sent her that read “she belongs to the race which is cursed with the brand of slavery” (Chopin 92). The story’s ironic ending has a connection with the story’s setting, imagery, and Chopin’s use of similies.
In conclusion, Chopin’s story explains how life in the late 1800s treated black people, as well as where white people traditionally stood on the social ladder in comparison. Most rich whites owned slaves that were treated poorly, much like Armand’s before the marriage and after the child grew. It also explained that having any black in the family was shameful
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.
Similar to the recurring motif of the ocean, the constant symbolism of the lady in black during Edna’s vacation in Grand Isle brings to light the limitations of freedom and the constant pressure of society’s standards. In Creole society, a woman dressed in blacks shows that she is a widow who has to adhere to the Creole’s tradition. Here, Chopin once again subtly introduces her message of isolationism through the life of the lady in black and that her appearance symbolizes the freedom from her husband while revealing the loneliness that comes with this freedom. The color black often signifies darkness and loneliness, therefore my journal notes that “in each appearance of the lady in black, she is seen to be alone and completely separated or
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 '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.
Throughout time, humans struggled with issues of conformity and individuality. In the modern world, individuality is idealized, as it is associated with strength. Weak individuals are usually portrayed as conforming to society and having almost no personal ideas. In “Desiree’s Baby”, a short story, the author Kate Chopin deals with the struggles of African descendants in the French colonies during the time of slave labor. The protagonist is a white woman named Desiree who is of unknown origin and birth as she was found abandoned as an infant at an aristocrat’s doorstep. Eighteen years after her discovery, she and a fellow aristocrat, Armand Aubigny, fall in love and get married. They soon have a child, yet conflict arises when the child is discovered to be black. The young family is destroyed when the baby’s father, Armand, refuses to accept the child. In “Desiree’s Baby”, Chopin demonstrates through Armand’s conflicts how weak humans conform to environmental norms.