Desiree’s Baby
By: Kate Chopin
I
found Chopin’s short story to be fascinating. In the 1900’s there was a lot of
prejudice and hatred towards people of the African American race, and these
people served as slaves. In this time period, even if you were born both
Caucasian and African American, you were considered to be black and not white.
However, those who were biracial and adopted the pale skin and European
features rather than African features, they were better able to integrate and
blend into “white society” if they so chose to. This seemed to be the case
Armand as we learn in the twist ending of the story.
The
story begins with Desiree and her baby and Madame Valmdonde, who went to visit
them. Desiree is married to Armand who was a rather wealthy man who was a slave
owner on a plantation. He loved
Desiree and was proud to give her his name; he seemed to be even more proud
that she gave him a boy to carry on his great name. Desiree said that their
marriage and the baby had brought out a good side to her husband, he hadn’t
gotten angry or punished the slaves since the birth of his son.
Later
there is a terrible change in Armand’s mood; he avoided Desiree’s presence and
he avoided their son. Desiree was afraid to confront Armand, and I don’t blame
her because he seems pretty harsh. One day when she is watching one of the
slave boys fan her baby, she has a frightening realization- her child resembles
the slave boy. “’Armand’’’…. look at our child. What does it mean? Tell me….
‘It means,’ he answered lightly, ‘that the child is not white; it means that
you are not white’” (1617). This
scene took me by surprise, how are they just now noticing that their child is
not white? Has their son not always resembled the slave children?
Desiree
tries to defend herself, and basically tells Armand that it is ridiculous that
he would think she is not white. She says she is paler than he is and that her
eyes are grey. When Desiree gets the offer to go to Valmonde, Armand willingly
lets her and their baby go. He has the slaves build a large bonfire in which he
proceeds to burn all of Desiree’s things- her dresses, embroideries and fancy
things, letters written from her etc. With the stash of letters from Desiree,
he found a letter written from his deceased mother- “She was thanking God for
the blessings of her husband’s love: - 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” (1619).
I
love this quote for it serves as the ultimate twist in the story. All this time
while Armand is a slaveholder and then accusing his wife of being black and
making their baby black, while little does he know that his deceased mother was
black, which means he is in fact black. Armand had sent his wife and baby away
assuming that she was the culprit of giving their baby African blood when
really he was the contributor. Oh the irony! His whole life he has been against
and punishing his own kind. What do you think Armand will do now that he knows
this bit of information? Do you think he will ask for his wife and son to come
back? Will he free his slaves? Or is he too prideful and arrogant to admit to
any of it and is in denial that he too is in fact black?
I agree with you that the ending is truly ironic. I also find it in the fact that,from an evolutionary standpoint, we do come from a race of darker skinned people. Our ancestors have diversified over the years, and even if some people don't believe in evolution, they can't argue that people's appearances have changed over time. I also think Armand's denial represents peoples denial today about race. They try to avoid it, instead of confronting it. I don't racism will ever go away simply because we all have different complexions. It's sad like the ending of this story.
ReplyDeleteI believe he is far too prideful and arrogant to take any of his actions back. You can see in throughout the story that his temperament is far from desirable, and this revelation about his own life will surely do nothing to change that. I like the idea that he has known all along that he is half black, but has chosen to never acknowledge it, even at the cost of sending his own wife and child out. His joy at the birth of his child would make sense in this case, because initially the child appeared white, so he was happy his blood did not too dramatically change the child's appearance (as to make him appear black). However, as the child aged, the african american blood began to show more, which left Armand no choice but to lay the blame on his wife. Not the cheeriest interpretation, but it's one I find interesting!
ReplyDeleteI also think that Armand is far too prideful to admit to himself, much less anyone else, that he carries African American blood. He prides himself on the reputation of his family and admitting that he was part black would take this all away from him. The fact that he is able to blame Desiree for the baby's appearance so easily and banish her from his house reveals the level of power men held in the society of the time. Desiree ultimately kills herself and her baby because, without Armand, she has nothing to live for.
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