Presented by Huynh Sam Nghi -av30 QL1

Summary:

“Desiree’s Baby” was written in 1893 by Kate Chopin. It is one of her most well known short story. The story takes place in Louisiana before the American Civil War

The opening of the story was a brief background of Desiree. Desiree was a foundling girl. She was found at a plantation by Monsieur Valmonde when she was a toddle. Madame Valmonde had no child. In spire of Desiree’s origin, The Valmonde family raised Desiree as her own child. Madame Valmonde considered Desiree as a gift from God.

Desiree grew up to be a beautiful and gentle lady. That made Armand Aubigny, a neighboring plantation owner, fall in love with her. Although Monsieur Valmonde reminded Armand Aubigny that Desiree’s origin is unknown, Armand Aubigny did not care. He got married to Desiree inspire of Monsieur Valmonde’s dissuasion.

After their marriage, Desiree gave birth to a baby. Madame Valmonde first visited Desiree and the baby in more than four weeks. She felt surprised at Desiree’s baby and said that is not the baby. When asked how her husband felt, Desiree said that her husband was so proud and treated kindly even to slaves. Before that Armand Aubigny was known as a person who was very cruel to his slaves. However, when the baby was three months old, there was something strange changing at the plantation. Unexpected visitors called on for no reason. Then her husband was averted her. It made Desiree feel miserable.

As looking at her baby and the little quadroon boy who fanning the baby, Desiree found out something similar between these two children. She asked her husband and received a harsh answer. That was her son was black and that she was not white. Feeling utmost miserable, she sent a letter to her mother telling her mother that everyone said she is not white. Her mother replied that she should come back home with her baby. Her showed the letter to her husband and asked for permission. However, her husband did not object for this leaving. She left her house sadly without bringing anything with her. She did not take the road. She walked across a deserted field, where the stubble ruined her dress and hurt her feet.

A few weeks later, Armand burned his wife and his son’s clothes. He also burned a packet of love letters which Desiree had written to him. There was still one letter left in the drawer. It is a letter from his mother to his father. In the letter, she thanked for his father’s love. And she was happy when Armand would never know she belonged to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.

Theme:

Racialism

Kate Chopin’s story, “Desiree’s Baby” largely talked about racialism. At Chopin’s time African Americans were considered as the lowest class in the society. They were exploited savagely by the upper-class. Moreover, in this period in Louisiana mixed ancestry was not accepted. One found to be a non-white would be ostracized from the white community. In a word, the non-white hardly existed in the white community.

Commentary on a remarkable symbol

The Letter

In “Desiree’s Baby” the written letters appearing five times have two functions, communicating and uncovering the truth. Firstly, it is used as a tool of communication. During the days of Desiree and Armand’s espousal, Desiree sent many love letters to Armand. When being accused of being a non-white, Desiree wrote a letter to her mother to ask for explanation. Then she received a letter from her mother advising her coming home with her child. These letters are represented for the communication between people. It requests an action. It links people together. It expresses love and care between people. When Armand burns all Desiree’s love letter, the line of communication between them disappear. They no longer connect to each other anymore. In other words, their love is split. Secondly, the last letter to appear in the end of the story is a tool of uncovering the truth. This letter was written by Armand’s mother. It revealed the truth that his mother was not white. It meant that Armand is a mixed child not his wife. The letter let readers know the source of his child. This discovery shows that Armand’s irrational and hasty accusation is wrong. Moreover, Armand now is no better than his slaves and his child. He is one of them. The letter likes a dagger stabbing at his heart. It leaves an unhealable wound in his mind. The image of the letter closes the story with an unexpected ending. The letter let reader think more about the unjust society at that time.