Désirée's Baby by Kate Chopin
"Désirée's Baby" is a short story by Kate Chopin that delves into themes of identity, race, and societal norms in 19th-century Louisiana. The narrative follows Désirée, an orphan adopted by a wealthy couple, as she marries Armand Aubigny, a man of high social standing. Initially, their life seems idyllic, but tensions arise after the birth of their son, when Armand's behavior shifts and he accuses Désirée of being of mixed race, suggesting that their child’s appearance reveals this ancestry. The story exposes the destructive power of racism and the societal obsession with lineage, ultimately leading to tragic consequences. As Désirée seeks validation of her heritage, the revelation of Armand’s own hidden ancestry serves as a poignant commentary on the complexities of racial identity. Chopin's work is a critical exploration of the societal pressures faced by individuals in a racially stratified society, inviting readers to reflect on the impacts of prejudice and the search for belonging.
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Désirée's Baby by Kate Chopin
First published: 1892
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of work: Sometime before the American Civil War
Locale: Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana
Principal Characters:
Désirée , the heroine, a beautiful young womanArmand Aubigny , her husband, a rich planter and slave-holderMonsieur Valmonde , her foster fatherMadame Valmonde , her foster mother
The Story
As the story opens, Madame Valmonde is on her way to visit Désirée and her new baby. As she makes the short trip to the nearby plantation, Madame Valmonde thinks back to the time when Désirée was herself an infant. Her husband had found the child lying asleep near a pillar at the entrance to the Valmonde plantation, probably having been left there by a party of Texans who had passed by that day. Childless themselves, the Valmondes adopted Désirée.
Désirée grows into a beautiful woman, and, when she is eighteen years old, Armand Aubigny falls in love with her. When he proposes, Monsieur Valmonde reminds Armand that her parentage and ancestry are unknown, but Armand dismisses all objections. After all, he can give her one of the finest names and lineages in Louisiana.
They soon marry, and at first their life together is happy. Armand, a harsh man toward his slaves, becomes more humane; following the birth of their first child, a son, Armand grows even kinder. Shortly thereafter, however, Armand becomes crueler than ever. He also stays away from home for long periods of time, and when he is at home he shows no affection for Désirée.
One afternoon, as Désirée sits listlessly in her room, she glances at her child lying on the bed. A quadroon slave is fanning the child, and suddenly she is struck by the similarity in their features. As soon as her husband arrives, she asks for an explanation. Armand replies that her suspicions are correct; the child is not white. If the child is not white, Armand continues, then neither is Désirée.
She refuses to believe Armand's accusation and writes to her foster mother to confirm her racial purity. Madame Valmonde responds by inviting Désirée and her baby to return home. She says nothing about Armand's accusation, though, thus tacitly confirming it.
After receiving this letter, Désirée asks her husband what he wants her to do. He wants her to go. She does indeed leave, but instead of returning to the Valmondes, she carries her baby into the swamp and disappears.
Several weeks later Armand builds a bonfire in the backyard to destroy all traces of Désirée and the child. Into the flames go the willow cradle, the baby's expensive layette, and Désirée's silk, satin, and velvet dresses. Finally he gathers up her letters; these, too, he consigns to the blaze. Now only one piece of paper remains in the desk. As Armand prepares to destroy it, he notices that the handwriting is not his wife's. Instead, he discovers that it is a note from his mother to his father. In it he reads, "I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery." Too late, Armand learns the truth.
Bibliography
Beer, Janet. Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Studies in Short Fiction. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.
Beer, Janet, and Elizabeth Nolan, eds. Kate Chopin's "The Awakening": A Sourcebook. New York: Routledge, 2004.
Bonner, Thomas, Jr. The Kate Chopin Companion. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.
Boren, Lynda S., and Sara de Saussure Davis, eds. Kate Chopin Reconsidered: Beyond the Bayou. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1992.
Koloski, Bernard. Kate Chopin: A Study of the Short Fiction. New York: Twayne, 1996.
Petry, Alice Hall, ed. Critical Essays on Kate Chopin. New York: G. K. Hall, 1996.
Skaggs, Peggy. Kate Chopin. Boston: Twayne, 1985.
Stein, Allen F. Women and Autonomy in Kate Chopin's Short Fiction. New York: Peter Lang, 2005.
Taylor, Helen. Gender, Race, and Religion in the Writings of Grace King, Ruth McEnery Stuart, and Kate Chopin. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1989.
Toth, Emily. Kate Chopin. New York: William Morrow, 1990.
Toth, Emily. Unveiling Kate Chopin. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1999.