Desiree's Baby Racism

Racism between the cotton pickers and Armand was clearly present. The slave of darker pigmentation was outside working in the field. Zandrine and La Blanche’s son had a light complexion and were allowed to do work in the home. Armand treatment of the slaves indicated that he look at them more as a possession than black human beings (Cummings). Armand conviction of Desiree race was racist. Armand went to the extremes of abandoning his wife and child conveys acts of racial discrimination towards the blacks.

The story “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin’s involves romance that gets crumpled up and burned with racism. It all begins when Madame Valmonde went to go visit Desiree (her adopted daughter) and her baby. Realizing after taking the baby to a window that was the lightest and scanning the baby while looking at Zandrine (an African American slave), the baby shares similar features to Zandrine. It was that moment where everything began to go down hill. This story was not just about one small, happy family, but instead, it was about prejudice, love, and racism. Racism does not come from within, it is manmade or taught.

Yet it is not until Armand believes that Desiree is black that he fully dominates her simply by thinking that he is superior.  At this point, “when he spoke to her, it was with averted eyes, from which the old love-light seemed to have gone out” (317).  Armand feels that he is too superior to Desiree to devote his full attention to her.  Since he no longer expresses his love for Desiree, she feels further pushed into a slave-like position in the relationship, and, “was miserable enough to die” (318).

Thesis statement: During the 19th century social class was more important than values, as the story focuses on Armand being ashamed of his baby due to his color, which creates conflict for him.

Unfortunately, Armand’s over value of race rubs off onto Desiree. Not knowing her true race, Desiree cannot live with the dissatisfaction of herself, her husband’s disgrace, nor that fact that he does not love her or the baby anymore. She cannot awake from the nightmare that her life has turned into. She takes the baby and wanders out into a deserted field where she and the baby perish. Thus Armand is to blame for destroying his family because of his obsession with status and the white race.

belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery"(6). In the time period in the story having a child that is not white is a disgrace. Armands Battle

Without racial comparisons, the story would only be a tragedy, reading as a criticism of hasty racial categorization because of the suffering it brings, but with them it is a depiction of a flawed system that has rewarded a black man. Chopin first contrasts Armand’s tendency to take on “the very spirit of Satan” in dealing with slaves with the more relaxed relationship they had with his father (441). Looking upon L’Abri, Madame Valmonde is troubled to realize that under Young Aubigny’s rule “his negroes had forgotten how to be gay, as they had been during the old master’s easy-going and indulgent lifetime” (440). Additionally, Madame Valmonde’s sadness upon seeing the estate may indicate that Monsieur Valmonde, a white man like Armand’s father, lacks young Aubigny’s cruelty. Armand’s lack of compassion is seen again upon realizing his son’s black heritage. Feeling that “Almighty God had dealt cruelly and unjustly with him” by giving him a quadroon child, Armand asks Desiree and the child to leave L’Abri (442). In contrast, Monsieur Valmonde’s treatment of Desiree as “the idol of Valmonde” depicts his compassion toward a child who may potentially be black (440). Chopin’s racist undertones are realized as the dark-skinned Armand, characterized by volatility and callousness, is meant to be looked upon much less favorably than the story’s compassionate white slave owners.

Armand’s desperate hope to have a son rather than a daughter is an example of gender bias. Armand judges the worth of his own child based on its gender to carry his proud family name, Aubigny. In this story, Desiree is treated as a trophy wife with no responsibility or power because she is a woman. Desiree was treated as a slave being at complete mercy of Armand, “When he frowned she trembled, but loved him. When he smiled, she asked no greater blessing of God.” This passage showcases the level of control Armand assumed over Desiree. After the birth of her child, Armand views his trophy as impure and unwelcome in his home. The conflict of a colored child being born into a prominent family is too much for Armand to handle. The racial bias forces Desiree to leave the plantation and return to her mother. Desiree is a victim of her society’s mistreatment and prejudice; however, Armand could also be viewed as a product of this society.

Desiree is portrayed as a very dependent, fragile, and weak character throughout the short story Desiree’s Baby because of her response to the conflicts that are presented to her. Desiree’s Baby illustrates this when Armand rejects Desiree because their baby appears to have “negro” characteristics. Desiree depends on Armand so much that she wants to kill herself because he does not approve of her anymore since he believes she is of African descent. This highlights that Desiree cannot be independent anymore because she is willing to kill herself for not being able to be with Armand anymore. Next, Desiree is a very fragile character, which is also shown from not being able to handle the rejection from Armand.

If Desirée were actually black in the Antebellum south, she would know these things from early childhood. Desirée disappears “among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the bank of the deep sluggish bayou; and she did not come back again” (404). Desirée’s disappearance is not only her physical departure from L’Abri; it is the disappearance of the white woman that was Desirée. And none of these circumstances is decided by biology, but by what Marxists refer to as a “struggle for power between different social classes” (Gardner 145). Chopin is delivering a message that power transcends race.

In the very beginning Desiree was left on a stone pillar at the Valmonde estate; it is also here that Armand Aubigny sees her and falls instantly in love with her. The stone pillar is a symbol of firm, forced male dominance in a patriarchal society. It is how men were of superior to anybody else. Desiree grew into a beautiful and gentle-hearted young woman and soon found a wealthy suitor asking for her hand. This young suitor was Armand Aubigny. He had known of Desiree’s past but was in love and did not care. Armand Aubigny’s character in this story was racist and despicable but the young bride was in love and looked past his faulty character.

From this, the reader understands that Armand is attempting to assume a persona of the powerful aristocratic slave-owner. However, in this attempt, Armand demonstrates his very weakness: he is insecure and so must prove his strength. Another example of Armand’s weakness lies in his attempt to destroy all evidence relating to his relationship with Desiree. Armand feels that a marriage to a potentially black woman could be damaging to his to his place in society so he burns all of the evidence of her presence in his life: “In the centre of the smoothly swept back yard was a great bonfire, “ (Chopin 13). Although it is true that during the setting of the story, such a marriage could have been damaging, if he truly were a strong character, he would have defended his own beliefs and maintained his marriage. A final example of Armand’s weakness is in his discovery of a letter from his mother to his father and the reactions implied by the author. The letter carries details about Armand’s own race and how he is actually black. Armand’s implied reactions are that he will in fact take no action: despite the fact that Desiree was not of African descent, she will live her life in the belief that she is. This is the ultimate example of Armand’s weakness as he is too fearful of establishing his own identity to truly do so. Armand has been shown to be a weak, socially malleable character because of his internal

In the very beginning Desiree was left on a stone pillar at the Valmonde estate; it is also here that Armand Aubigny sees her and falls instantly in love with her. The stone pillar is a symbol of firm, forced male dominance in a patriarchal society. It is how men were of superior to anybody else. Desiree grew into a beautiful and gentle-hearted young woman and soon found a wealthy suitor asking for her hand. This young suitor was Armand Aubigny. He had known of Desiree’s past but was in love and did not care. Armand Aubigny’s character in this story was racist and despicable but the young bride was in love and looked past his faulty character.

During the life of his father, the slaves were able to enjoy a more "easy-going and indulgent" life. (p.31) Armand's father did not let the pride of his skin color control the kind of man he would be. His son

In the time period that this story was written, a person’s background meant something as a name was a sense of wealth and worth. Since Desiree was adopted, her background was unknown and when Armand decided to marry Desiree he didn’t care because he would give her his name as all he cared about was his affection for her. For a little while all was well in the household. Desiree and Armand were happier than ever, and Armand treated his slaves better. This soon took a drastic turn as everyone noticed that their son had begun to show qualities of a Negro. Once these features were noticed, Armand’s attitude towards his wife and his slaves changed for the worst. In Armand’s eyes Desiree was at fault for giving the child those features since her history was unknown. Even after Desiree gives her husband evidence that she may not be a carrier, she and her child are still banished from the home and sent on their way.