Désirée’s Baby by Kate Chopin in 1892 Essay

The text Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby is written by Kate Chopin in 1892. The story takes place in Louisiana before the American Civil War, on two plantations, one called Valmond and another called L’Abri. The story is told in omniscient third-persons point of view, meaning that the narrator not only describes what happens, but also reveals the thoughts of the characters from time to time. You can see an example here: â€Å"When the baby was about three months old, Dà ©sirà ©e awoke one day to the conviction that there was something in the air menacing her peace.† The language is of an old kind, but that just contributes in giving the story meaning, because it puts you into the time, in which the story takes place. The story starts with Madame Valmond, who is going to visit her daughter, Dà ©sirà ©e, because she has given birth to a baby boy. On her way over, Valmond thinks about the time she found Dà ©sirà ©e all alone, when she was just a little baby. Valmonde arrives at her daughters house called L’Abri, which is owned by Dà ©sirà ©e’s husband Arband Aubigny. When she sees her grandchild, she notices something different with him. Valmond leaves again and 3 month later, Dà ©sirà ©e is still at L’Abri with her child. Armand, who had been so loving towards her, has become really cold and do not want to speak to his wife: â€Å"†Armand,† she called to him, in a voice which must have stabbed him, if he was human. But he did not notice. â€Å"Armand,† she said again. (s. 4)† She knows something has changed. One day her baby is lying on the bed, and one of the slaves on the farm is fanning the child with a fan, here she finds out what is wrong; â€Å"She looked from her child to the boy who stood beside him, and back again; over and over. â€Å"Ah!† It was a cry that she could not help; which she was not conscious of having uttered. The blood turned like ice in her veins, and a clammy moisture gathered upon her face. (s. 4)† This is the climax of the story. She now realizes that Armand thinks she is black, which was something he saw as a bad race, and did not tolerate it. She gets really sad, Dà ©sirà ©e confronts her husband, and he confirms what she thought. She writes to her mother about her concerns. Madame Valmond writes back, that she and the baby should come home to them. When she shows the letter to Armand, he just makes her leave. He does this because he is mad at her, for putting him in such a situation; â€Å"Moreover he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name.† He is too proud of his old family tree and their values, so he could never be with someone who descended from slaves. He chooses tradition over love right there. Dà ©sirà ©e begs him, but ends up leaving L’Abri and going to her parents farm Vermond, with her baby. At the end Armand finds a letter his mother has written to her father, in which it says; â€Å"She was thanking God for the blessing of her husband’s love;- â€Å"But, above all,† she wrote, â€Å"night and day, I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know this his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.† This is when the unexpected element occurs. Armand, who as most rich people at that time, bases his worth of a person primarily on his or hers race. He has stopped loving his wife, just based on genetics, because he believes it did not suit his family’s heritage. It is now clear, that the ones Armand felt he ashamed by having Dà ©sirà ©e as a wife, his own parents, actually knew Armand was black, but they still loved him just as much. Armand has just thrown his wife away just based on something, which actually was his fault. The themes in this story are Racism, which was a really big problem at that time. It is also judging by appearances, which Armand does. When he met Desiree, he loved her outer beauty and her good family name. When he comes to think she is black, he just rejects his wife and his child, only judged by their skin. Another theme could be that love is colorblind, which is something both Armand’s and Dà ©sirà ©e’s parents know, because even though they know that their children could be colored, they do not care. Dà ©sirà ©e do not abandon her son, so she has the same opinion.