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Desiree’s Baby – Summary and Analysis VERSION 2 Summary Madame Valmonde is going to visit her daughter, Desiree, and her new baby. She is shocked that Desiree could have a baby because it seems like only yesterday the young girl came into her life. Desiree was found at the Valmonde plantation by Monsieur Valmonde when she was just a toddler. All the town's people had theories about where the young girl had come from, but Madame Valmonde didn't care. She had no children of her own, and she considered Desiree a gift from God sent for her to love Desiree grew up to be a beautiful young lady who was worshiped by her mother. One day, as she stood by the pillar where she was found, Armand Aubigny rode past her and felt pangs of love. He had known Desiree all her life, but had never felt this way about her. Suddenly he was seized with the urge to marry her. Monsieur Valmonde tried to dissuade him from going forward with the marriage because of Desiree's unknown origins, but Armand could not be persuaded against marrying her. He sent to Paris to have a wedding set sent to him. Once it arrived with its household items, he and Desiree were married Madame Valmonde was making her first visit to Desiree in more than four weeks, and she is so surprised to see how much the child had grown. When she asks how Armand feels about the baby, Desiree gets so excited. Armand has always been known to running a strict plantation and for being exceptionally cruel to his slaves. Desiree tells her mother that he is so proud that he has been kind even to the slaves. Her mother notices that her happiness is apparent in every gesture she makes Desiree was right. Marriage and the birth of their son had made Armand happy and nicer. However, when the baby turned three months old, Desiree noticed something changing at the plantation. Visitors seemed to drop by for no reason, and Armand had grown distant. He had resumed punishing the slaves with a new fervor that Desiree hadn't seen before. She couldn't quite figure out what the problem was Then as she watches a young quadroon boy, a person who is one quarter black, fanning her son, she notices an astonishing similarity between the boys. When Armand walked into the room, she asked him what it means He tells her that it means their son is black and that she is not white. She is mortified at the revelation and sends a note to her mother telling her that everyone says she is not white. Her mother replies that she should return home with her baby. Desiree shows the letter to her husband, and he agrees that she should leave. She is sad and leaves immediately not bothering to even take any of her things with her. She doesn't take the road but rather walks through the field, ruining her dress and hurting her feet A few weeks later, Armand starts a bonfire and commands his slaves to burn the things that had belonged to his wife and child. The last thing he throws on the fire is a packet of love letters that Desiree had written to him. There is still one letter left in the drawer that he keeps his letters in. It is a letter from his mother to his father. In the letter, his mother thanks her husband for his love. She goes on to say she is so happy that Armand will never know that she belonged to the race that are considered slaves Analysis According to Thomas Votteler, editor of Short Story Criticisms: Volume 8, over the years Kate Chopin has emerged as one of the greatest as well as most admired American short story writers, novelists, poets, and essayists. In many of Chopin’s stories she has transcended simple regionalism and portrayed women who seek spiritual and sexual freedom amidst the restrictive mores of nineteenthcentury Southern society [1]. Cynthia Griffin Wolf, a critic, agrees that “The vision in all of Chopin’s best fiction is consummately interior, and it draws for strength upon her willingness to confront the bleak fact of life’s tenuous stabilities” [2] One of the greatest examples of that willingness that Chopin wanted to express was presented in the short story “Désirée’s Baby.” In this story, it not only confronts the racial issues that took place during the time of slavery but also draws upon the reader’s emotions to experience how people thought during that time period. Kate Chopin brought attention to the racial issues that existed during the times of slavery through her short story “Désirée’s Baby” which introduces the two main characters in the story, Désirée and Armand, and creates many symbolisms, ironies, and themes seen throughout the story Armand, and Désirée are the two main characters that are talked about in the story “Désirée’s Baby.” Even though the story begins with Désirée’s mother telling the story, the story quickly switches over to the thoughts and actions of Désirée as well as her husband Armand. Armand is a round character in the story, for he undergoes a change by the end of the story. He is the only one who reaches an epiphany at the end of the story when he discovers the true facts of his mother’s origin, and that he is in fact part black. Robert D. Arner, a critic, comments, “Armand is a willful and headstrong character” [3]. Armand is also defined by both his actions and by the images clustered around him. Désirée, who is the other main character in the story, is Armand’s wife as well as mother to their child. Désirée, in contrast to her husband, is a flat character She is consistent with her emotions and feelings toward Armand throughout the story. Even though she is deeply hurt and shocked by Armand’s reaction and behavior towards the fact that their baby is black, she still loves him at the end of the story just as she did in the beginning. She is the protagonist in the story because she is the one character who doesn’t react poorly to the fact that her baby is black. Unlike Armand, who completely blows the whole situation out of proportion, Désirée isn’t the one who has the problem. She is presented with the problem or conflict, and is not responsible for creating it. Désirée is also defined by her actions and by the images clustered around her There are many symbols seen throughout the story “Désirée’s Baby.” The first major symbolism seen continuously throughout the story is that of light and dark. Armand represents darkness while Désirée represents lightness. A critic, Robert D. Arner, points out, “Armand is associated with darkness from the outset. His estate is a place of terror and his house inspires fear…[It] functions as a symbolic projection onto the landscape of Armand’s personality” [3]. Robert D. Arner also concludes that the color yellow is symbolic in the way it’s used in the story. The plantation that Armand owns is yellow, as is Zandrine, the baby’s nurse, and La Blanche and her son who are black [3]. This goes back to the original symbolism that Armand is associated with darkness or the black slaves who are described in the story as being yellow. Armand’s reaction and personality are also symbolic. According to another critic, Barbara C. Ewell, “His passions are instant and furious: he falls in love ‘as if struck by a pistol shot,’ his passion sweeps along ‘like an avalanche, or like a prairie fire, or like anything that drives headlong over obstacles’ ” [4] There is symbolism in the way that he also reacts to the baby being black. He is rash and he burns all of Désirée’s belongings in a bonfire "[s]ome weeks later" after she leaves the house His personality is symbolic in the way that he doesn’t always know everything before he makes a decision, so this basically shows that he goes by impulse, and the reader expects him to act rashly when he realizes that the baby is black Irony plays a big part in the story. At the end of the story Kate Chopin leaves the reader with information regarding Armand in the form of a letter that his mother wrote. She wrote, “ night and day, I thank the good God for having so arranged [her and her husband’s] lives that [her and her husband’s] dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery” [5]. This reveals the real truth that Armand is the one who is black and likely not Désirée. It is also ironic that while he had destroyed Désirée’s life that he also in fact ruined his as well because he lost his wife, lost his baby, and also lost his important selfimage, for he claimed that he had one of the best names in Louisiana. The way that the characters are described is also ironic. Critic Cynthia Griffin Wolff says, “In the end, only Armand’s skin is genuinely coloreda ‘dark, handsome face’ ” [6]. While Armand is portrayed that way, Désirée is surrounded by whiteness. Robert D. Arner points out examples of Désirée being surrounded by whiteness. Recovering from a difficult labor, Désirée lies “in her soft white muslins and laces, upon a couch.” She stands next to Armand “like a stone image: silent, white, motionless” after she receives her mother’s letter and allows Armand to read and respond to it. At the end the reader is left with an image of Désirée wearing a thin white garment [3]. Kate Chopin also has Désirée confront Armand about her skin color saying “Look at my hand; whiter than yours, Armand” [7]. These ironies all lead the reader to the actual truth, but then again try to mislead the reader at the same time There are many outlying themes in the story “Désirée’s Baby.” One of the themes that Kate Chopin wanted readers to understand was that nothing good could come from making too rash of assumptions or being too quick to judge someone or something. Armand assumed too quickly that Désirée had to have the black traits when in fact in the end it is he who is part black. This assumption ultimately kills him in the end because he ends up losing his wife and baby, and also destroying any chance of happiness that was left in his life. He created his own doom and fate. Another theme seen throughout the story is purely racial This story obviously identifies racial issues, but more than that the story allows the reader to see that Armand is as much a slave as the actual slaves that he controls. As critic Barbara C. Ewell says, “[Armand] is a victim of his emotional volatility” [4]. Robert D. Arner also concludes, “the theme that no real or final distinction based on color can be made between slave and master” [8]. These themes reach deep into the reader’s mind and really makes the reader think about the many issues of race in society today as well as the racial issues of the past. Kate Chopin wrote the story “Désirée’s Baby” with a general idea of what she wanted to say. She brings together these two characters that are completely different and opposite of each other. Armand and Désirée have many differences beginning with where they come from, their family background, and their overall personalities. Throughout the story there are also many symbolic, ironic, and general themes given to the reader to interpret and think about. Robert D. Arner gives his opinion that “ ‘Désirée’s Baby’ gives evidence of a careful craftsmanship that goes well beyond formal elegance and fuses theme, structure, and imagery into one of the most successful of [Kate Chopin’s] work” [8]. Cynthia Griffen Wolff agrees with Robert D. Arner that “ ‘Désirée’s Baby’ may be judged a superb piece of short fictionan economical, tight psychological drama” [9] ... Baby which introduces the two main characters in the story, Désirée and Armand, and creates many symbolisms, ironies, and themes seen throughout the story Armand, and Désirée are the two main characters that are talked about in the story “Désirée’s Baby. ” Even ... in the way it’s used in the story. The plantation that Armand owns is yellow, as is Zandrine, the baby s nurse, and La Blanche and her son who are black [3]. This goes back to the original symbolism that Armand is associated with darkness or the black slaves who are described in the story as being yellow. Armand’s ... regarding Armand in the form of a letter that his mother wrote. She wrote, “ night and day, I thank the good God for having so arranged [her and her husband’s] lives that [her and her husband’s] dear Armand will