Desiree's Baby Literary Analysis

“Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, is a short story written in the 1890’s that depicts racism and the role of women in the late nineteenth century. “Desiree’s Baby” is about a young woman that was adopted at a young age by a wealthy family of status, the Valmonde’s, with no knowledge of her ancestry or background. Desiree marries Armand, a man of status and wealth, and they have a contented relationship until they have a child and shortly after his birth, it becomes apparent that the child is of mixed race. Armand believes that his wife is the one of mixed descent, but the irony is that after Desiree has committed suicide and also murdered the child, Armand finds a letter from his mother to his father in which he learns that his mother was of mixed descent. Chopin strategically uses characterization, foreshadowing, syntax to help illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole.
Chopin uses the characterization and background of Armand to give insight into Armand’s beliefs and values which help build up to Armand’s rejection of his wife and child. Chopin describes how Armand fell in love with Desiree in paragraph four by saying that it was “as if [he were] struck by a pistol shot” when

The description of Armand’s estate creates a sense of darkness and foreshadows conflict and hostility to come. Madame Valmonde “shuddered at the first sight” of the estate as it was “a sad looking place” with “big solemn oaks” shadowing the property (2). Foreshadowing of the resolution occurs several times throughout the piece. The foreshadowing of the ending is illustrated by the description of Armand as “dark” and “handsome” (3) and also when Desiree points out that her skin is “whiter” than Armand’s when he accuses her of being of mixed descent. When Desiree goes to drown herself and the baby Chopin cleverly foreshadows her actions by describing the “sinking”