On Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin

Introduction

This paper is based on a short story, titled “Desiree's Baby”, written by Kate Chopin, one of the most influencial playwright in the history of English literature. The outline of this paper is fairly simple. First comes the thesis statement that covers the central theme of the story: i.e. the plight of slave people in colonial america.

The main part of this paper comprises of a discussion section, that highlights the characteristics of Desiree, who is depicted as being the leading role model for all the women and the slaves, showing her struggle as a woman of color being rated as a second-class marginalized individual. In the discussion section, Desiree is being portrayed as a victim of male dominance, neglect and maltreatment on behalf of her lusty husband.

The conclusion section again summarizes the central theme of the short story, that has a traditional ending - a particular characteristic of stories based on color.

Thesis Statement

Desiree's character sympathizes with the plight of people of mixed blood and points out the evils of a slave system that at once creates and condemns miscegenation.

General Statement

The carefully defined setting is, rather, a laboratory. What happens when one puts certain characters in a particular world? Like a scientist, Chopin observed their reactions and reported her results without obvious emotion. Significantly, she called this story “Désirée's Baby,” not “Désirée,” as though seeking to deflect sympathy from the central character.

Discussion

Her chief concern, however, is not with the South's “peculiar institution,” a topic she rarely treated in her fiction. Rather, she concerns herself with her characters' inner lives. In spite of their southern locale, Chopin's stories rarely deal with racial relations between whites and blacks. One important exception is “Désirée's Baby” (1892). Désirée Valmondé, who was originally a foundling, marries Armand Aubigny, a plantation owner who is proud of his aristocratic heritage but very much in love with Désirée. He is at first delighted when she bears him a son, but soon begins to grow cold and distant (Stein, 23). Désirée, puzzled at first, soon realizes with horror that her child has Negro blood. Armand, whose love for Désirée has been killed by “the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name,” turns her out of the house, and she disappears with her child into the bayou, never to be seen again.

Later, in a surprise ending reminiscent of ...