Desiree's Baby Literary Analysis
In the fictional story, “Desiree’s Baby”, written by Kate Chopin, we find out Desiree is an orphan, taken in by Monsieur and Madame Valmonde. Then, as Desiree ages she marries a wealthy man named Armand Aubigny, who she later has a boy with. Later in the story, both find out the baby is a quadroon and Armand begins to blame Desiree for the race. Desiree begins to feel miserable and kills herself along with the baby. Chopin foreshadows the theme that racism is not something to proud of and doesn’t define a person, which develops a thrilling plot. Early in the story, Desiree freaked and gave the reader a first clue of the baby not being white.The reader can conclude that because Desiree says, “look at our child. What does it mean? Tell me.”
This moment becomes even more evident when Armanda says, “that the child is not white; it means that you are not white.” Not only did the author hint at the baby being one fourth black, but one of the parents are mixed with black as well. Through the exchanges between Armand and Desiree, regarding the baby, Desiree said, “Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand.” One could guess that Armand may not have been white due to his complexion. The clues continue to surmount as Armand’s attitude changed towards Desiree and the baby. Desiree responds to Armand’s attitude by revealing she was, “miserable enough to die.” After finding out later in the story, Desiree couldn’t take it anymore and left the house with the baby, went through stubble, reeds, and into a bayou where she drowned both her and their baby. After Armand found and read a letter to his dad from his mom saying, “Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.” The reader better understands it was Armand’s fault for the death of Desiree and his child. Essentially, in looking back, the author’s use of foreshadowing made the story more appealing and thrilling.
This moment becomes even more evident when Armanda says, “that the child is not white; it means that you are not white.” Not only did the author hint at the baby being one fourth black, but one of the parents are mixed with black as well. Through the exchanges between Armand and Desiree, regarding the baby, Desiree said, “Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand.” One could guess that Armand may not have been white due to his complexion. The clues continue to surmount as Armand’s attitude changed towards Desiree and the baby. Desiree responds to Armand’s attitude by revealing she was, “miserable enough to die.” After finding out later in the story, Desiree couldn’t take it anymore and left the house with the baby, went through stubble, reeds, and into a bayou where she drowned both her and their baby. After Armand found and read a letter to his dad from his mom saying, “Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.” The reader better understands it was Armand’s fault for the death of Desiree and his child. Essentially, in looking back, the author’s use of foreshadowing made the story more appealing and thrilling.