Desiree’s Baby
‘’Desiree’s Baby’’ by Kate Chopin takes place before the occurrence of civil war. The story can be illustrated as a sense of consequences and destiny. The story is crucial in exploring the issues of a man’s pride in overcoming race and love. The story emphasizes three major controversial matters in the general story. The themes are based on marriage, prejudice and inequities. The major purpose of the story is to explore and expose the prejudice and inequities and the subjugation of female (Chopin 6). The author wrote the story with the aim of broadening the perspective of racism and identity. Desire belongs to nobody as she was abandoned as a toddler and she is lucky to get adopted from parents who are not racists but have no knowledge of her ancestry. The author was effective in pairing characters to demonstrate how a sense of belonging can influence individual’s perspective. The paper will, therefore, seek to establish how racism and its impacts are portrayed through the characters by Chopin in Desiree’s Baby.
Based on ‘’Desiree’s Baby’’ individuals who are not from the white society are given fewer priorities. They are therefore considered as slaves because they do not deserve proper treatments based on their origin. The white individuals are characterized by a more superior feeling because they are proud of who they are. The white individuals are from prominent a family which owns slaves who are not of their race. Being of mixed colors is not well appreciated as it generates shame to the proudest names. Armand orders his wife to leave as he realized that their child was of mixed colors. He felt that his wife had brought shame to his family and he did not wish to be a joke to the community.
In Desiree’s Baby Chopin provides a compelling assessment of racial and class-based prejudice that ruled the attitudes of individuals. Quick choices and impulsive judgments result in hasty decisions. The story generates the feeling that the characters are hardwired to view the situation. As Kate Chopin illustrates in the story impulsive judgments are bound to generate judgments which can result in disastrous impacts in marriage life as well as in knowledge (Chopin 14). The judgments were mainly influenced by the racial authority that drove the society. Armand makes hasty choices as he considers himself a white individual who holds the power to control things.
One of the major characters is prone to making general choices without providing much thinking. According to Chopin, Armand fell in love with Desiree without even much consideration. He does not consider any other thought to be crucial despite the fact that he does not know about her origin or even her family. This shows that if he would have taken the time to consider several thoughts this would have prevented the subsequent disintegration of the marriage, as well as, the demise of his wife. The major thoughtless judgment that occurred in the story is influenced by race. This is illustrated by the fact that when Armand realizes that his baby was not born white and therefore assumes that the culprit is Desiree without examining other explanations (Chopin 10).
The author utilized the theme of origin to illustrate the sensation of belonging. Desiree does not feel like she belongs to anyone as her origin is questioned and she is also accused of being a false identity. Based on Chopin the feeling of belonging is essential as it helps in being contented in the things that one accomplishes. The author chooses the theme of origin in order to generate thoughts about how the origin of an individual can affect the general relationship with others. The life of Desiree transforms for the worst the moment she gives birth to a child who is not completely white (Chopin 6). Throughout the story, Armand is demonstrated as an individual who owned it all because of his origin. He utilized the name of his family in feeling as a proud individual because he thought that it was the proudest name at the time in Louisiana. His assumptions about the superiority of his race, therefore, destroyed his own family because he believes that his family name was more crucial. He did not wish to be frowned upon by individuals as becoming a joke was not part of him. He, therefore, thought that in the name of ethnicity his wife had lost his mind which he refers to as unconscious injury (Chopin 7).
The story is mainly focused on illustrating the feelings of race as the major factor that influences destruction. Chopin illustrates how racism played a crucial role in the lives of the characters and especially in 19th century. This is illustrated by the fact that the birth of Desiree child transforms the perspective of her husband towards skin color (Chopin 19). When the baby was established that he had a combination of colors thus not becoming a white baby everything changed from that moment. This started with the change of perspective and the attitude of Armand as well as the happiness of Desiree. When she gave birth to the baby she was very happy and her husband was also happy. He, therefore, started treating the slaves differently due to the fact that his happiness had been developed by the birth of his son. This changed after he saw that his son was growing with mixed colors which he had not thought of before and his perception changed. This led to the development of his irresponsible behaviors (Chopin 21).
Racial injustice is a cruel thing as everyone in the story loses everything that they held dear because of the injustice. To begin with, Desiree held no control over the person that she was. Desiree was not involved in any activity of deceiving her husband as he clearly understood that she was a foundling and that did not even worry him. These, therefore, demonstrate that his love was completely fleeting as the child was his own and he could not, therefore, abandon his son. Chopin chooses the decision to show that true love should be free from racism. Armand was guided by racial prejudice which resulted in him breaking his family responsibilities and his vows to Desiree (Chopin 23).
The contributions of the involved races are well illustrated in the story. Despite the fact that Armand is a mixed race he considers himself superior without giving thoughts of his background (Chopin 20). The slaves are helpful because they provide services to the superior race despite the unfortunate consideration. Chopin utilized different races in showing that there are no superior races because everyone holds different capabilities that are not determined by their race. In the 19th century, societies were characterized by racism as the white individuals were considered to be more capable and superior. This is why Armand did not appreciate the fact that his child was of mixed colors.
In conclusion, Desiree’s Baby is associated with feelings ranges despite the fact that it is also characterized by different matters such as race, identity, and gender issues. According to the story, racism is the major cause of negative developments such as pride and destruction. The author is effective in illustrating true identity of the characters which can be influential in the development of change. The feeling of pride due to race is well illustrated as Armand is proud because of his family name. It is thus clear that racism can lead to destructions because it is guided by the individual’s perceptions.
Work Cited
Chopin, K. Desiree’s Baby. Create space Independent Publisher, 2014. Internet source.
