This story starts off with Desiree and her baby in the present tense, but later the author gives the readers more history though a flash back to when Desiree was a baby herself. This gives readers good foreshadowing for later when Desiree's heritage is in question. Perhaps her husband drew conclusions that Desiree was abandoned because of her mixed race, and hence he wishes her to leave with the baby, in fear of social rejection because of the tainted race in his family name. What surprises me is that there are many ways to blame the woman: she could have had an affair, her lineage could have been tainted, but they did not stop to think that he looks more mixed than she does: "Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand" (541). I think Armand …show more content…
Most marriages were arranged due to the appeal of social hierarchy: high class women were expected to marry wealthy plantation owners. In this story, it was apparent that the characters' love for each other was rare, and that their love was powerful—so powerful that it pushed Desiree into death for not having the love of her husband: "He was paying Him back in kind when he stabbed this into his wife's soul. Moreover he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name" (541). On one hand, if the love they had was so instant and powerful, how could he not stay by her side. Rather, he blamed Desiree and removed the baby and her from the house without determining the truth. This leads me to question her value to him. It seems as though that his love for her was worth much less than his reputation as a planter. One look at a mixed baby left him cold and heartless, and she was not to blame: "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" (542). So, it is not Desiree who should be punished for Armand's family history, but the cold truth is that women are blamed for the appearances of their children, and a quick look at even the most precious baby, made a man turn on his great love. This shows to say that shifting blame without absolute certainty can have devastating effects, and some will do anything to save their
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.
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...
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.
“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.
... 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.
One of the most ironic moments in the whole story was near the end of the story. In the story it stated that Armand, the father, made Desiree and the baby flee because he had discovered that the baby is black. The ironic part was in the letter written to Armand, “Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery” (108). He forced his wife and kid leave him, but he was the problem in the story not the wife. Another quote from the story that supported the statement
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
“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.
Desiree is a lady who completely relied on her husband for any type of support. Desiree became powerless when Armand rejected her and the child when he noticed the infant’s change in skin color. Without having Armand in Desiree's life, she had low self-esteem and did not have the will to live anymore. For the most part there was a large amount of racism in the story as well as the feeling that ladies too are not equivalent to men.
Armand knew that Desiree’s decent was questionable and that she would be a perfect scapegoat if color were to show up in a child. When Monsieur Valmonde wanted Armand to fully consider Desiree’s unknown origin, he acted like it did not matter which is very peculiar during that time:
That was the way all the Aubignys fell in love, as if struck by a pistol shot…The passion that awoke in his that day, when he saw her at the gate, swept along like an avalanche, or like a prairie fire, or like everything that drives headlong over all obstacles.”(47). Most often, such love does not last, it is like a fire that ignite some dry straw but it is consumed very quickly. The true love was the one between Armand’s father and his wife, which was of black race. To be with her, he left his plantation and his important name in Louisiana and went to live in France, a land foreign to him, just to offer an easier life to his wife, “But, above all, she wrote, “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 52). To show his love for Desiree and their baby, Armand could do the same thing his father did many years ago, but his attitude towards Desiree looks like in fact his love was just one who pass away went something wrong happened in their life, when life 's challenges arise. The true love is when you can’t live without another person, when his/her happiness is your happiness, “This was what made
One important literary device used in "Desiree's Baby" is irony. When Desiree's child turned out to be a race other than white, blame was pointed at Desiree by her husband. At the end of the story, irony is demonstrated when we find out Armand's birth mother "belonged to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery." In other words, Armand's mother was black; this made him the reason Desiree's baby turn out mixed. This is an example of irony because the situation was contradictory to what Armand expected to be true. It fits with the theme that things aren't what they seem -- the situation literally wasn't what it seemed to be.
Armand becomes furious because he believes that Desiree?s race is what alters the color of the baby. After that incident, Armand displ...
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.