Desiree's Baby Literary Analysis

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Kate Chopin’s Desiree’s Baby is about a woman named Desiree and her husband Armand having a child and the problems that came with that. Both partners believed that they were white but three months after the birth the baby was showing clear signs that it is not just white. Armand being the wealthier and more powerful person in the relationship angrily tells Desiree that she is not white but she is confided that she is indeed white. Desiree writes her mother for help but her mother just tells her to come back home because she is still loved. She shows Armand this and he send her away so she takes the baby and leaves but instead of going home she disappears and is never found. Later When Armand is burning desiree belongs he discovers a letter …show more content…

It touches on love, classism, racism and drama within a family. Chopin shows this through the interactions between the characters. Love sets the tone of the story from the beginning because of the way Armand feels toward Desiree. Armand expresses this by not caring that she is “nameless” and where desiree is from. Armand is willing to give her a new luxurious life and name with some stature because Armand is extremely known and wealthy. Chopin states “Armand looked into her eyes and did not care. He was reminded that she was nameless. What did it matter about a name when he could give her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana? He ordered the corbeille from Paris, and contained himself with what patience he could until it arrived; then they were married.” Desiree with love and an opportunity to move up in class they happily got married. This is a great example of classism in the …show more content…

After the married couple had a baby the idea of race is introduced into the story. When Desiree goes to visit her mother four weeks are the baby is born “This is not the baby!..Yes, the child has grown, has changed;” This quote and moment is important because it reveals two things, it shows that something about the baby is not normal and the reason of it has to deal with Desiree or Armand. When the baby was three months old they had figured out the problem with the baby, it was partly african and because of this their relationship changed. Armand becomes distant and evil like to the slaves he owns. Desiree is left to deal with the absence of her husband and remains in the house for long periods of time just thinking. When she confronts him about the situation Armand says, “that the child is not white; it means that you are not white.” but she says “It is a lie; it is not true, I am white! Look at my hair, it is brown; and my eyes are gray, Armand, you know they are gray. And my skin is fair,...Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand”. Both of them do not want to be labeled as African because the worse thing to be. This is shown when Desiree states, “You must know it is not true. I shall die. I must die. I cannot be so unhappy, and live.” when talking to her mother. Racism is this because she would rather die than be African but classism is also show. Armand is the higher class of the two so if he

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