Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin was an American author, born in 1850 and died in 1904. Although she only wrote 2 books which were published. Chopin had about 100 short stories, which were well-known to be more emphasised on sensitive and intelligent women and mainly based in Louisiana where she spent most her life. Many of her stories appeared in well-known magazines including Vogue, Atlantic Monthly and Harper's Young People. Chopin had very good feedback from reviews from two of her books - Bayou Folk (1894) and A Night in Acadie (1897). However, one her book - The Awakening (1899) was condemned because critics thought that it was 'morbid, vulgar and disagreeable'. On the other hand, Chopin had written many other successful stories which is why she is widely accepted as one of America's essential authors.
Desiree's Baby Synopsis
This story was set in Louisiana before the American Civil War, where society was based was divided into white people having the higher status and black people where usually slaves at this time.
A mother named Madame Valmonde was visiting her adopted daughter's - Desiree, baby. Desiree was found by Valmonde, as a baby lest of the gateway of Valmonde, and so no-one knew where she came from. 18 years later, Desiree had fallen in love with a man named Armand Aubigney. The instantly fell in love, even though he did not know where she came from. They got married soon after they had met and Desiree had a child, who Valmonde was going to visit. Valmonde never liked the feel of the place where Desiree and Armand lived, because it was filled with negros working on a big field, filled with cotton crops. Valmonde had not seen the baby in a long time, therefore she was very surprised at how much the baby had grown and changed. Before the baby was born, Armand was very strict towards his slaves, but since the baby was born, he had a change of heart, . They were a happy family. However, three moths later, Armand's attitude suddenly changed. He was ignorant and grew distant between his child and Desiree, without giving an explanation to Desiree. One afternoon, the baby was lying on the bed, topless, being gently fanned by a black child who was also topless. Desiree looked at her baby then at the boy, repeating this she noticed a horrifying resemblance between these two. She let out a little scream, realising what had happened. She sent out the black boy, and Armand entered and she asked him questions because she was confused as to why her baby was black when they were both white. Desiree tried to get an answer from Armand, however he believes that Desiree was not white therefore that was why the baby was not white. On the other hand, Desiree truly believes that she was all white. When she got a chance, she wrote to her mother about what happened, and her mother replied by saying that she should stay at her place, because she loved her. Desiree showed the reply to Armand, and he gave a stern answer that she should go. Armand had thought that God was being cruel to him, so in revenge to God, he was treating his wife horribly by not loving her any more for what she had done to his reputation. Desiree said her last 'goodbye' to Armand and took the child with her. The sun was about to set, and Desiree was wearing just a simple gown, her hair flowing in the wind. She walked towards the bank, through a deserted field where the stubble had battered her bare feet and tore her gown, but she acted like she was immune to the pain. She disappeared into the willows and into the bank of the river and did not come back. Desiree had drowned the baby and herself. A few weeks later, Armand had a bonfire of Desiree's possessions, including her wedding dress. There was a small pile of letters from Desiree when they were in love. He found a letter sent from his mother to his father, where she was thanking God for her husband's love. The last line wrote how everyday she thanked God that Armand would never know that his mother, who she love so very much, was actually black. Armand was the reason why his child was black. |
My thoughts and feelings towards the storyIn the beginning, I sense that it is quite a romantic story due to the fact that they both instantly fell in love together, and nothing was going to tear them apart. The essence of it was quite delightful yet mysterious because we didn't know where Desiree came from. When the baby was born I felt really thrilled for Desiree, considering that she was complaining about her child, you could still sense that she herself was very pleased and joyful. During the story, we find out that Armand suddenly stopped speaking to Desiree and didn't want anything to do with her. At this point I was quite confused as to why this had happened, because it was all so sudden. Then we realise that the baby is black, which was the reason why Armand was ignoring Desiree. At this point I was slightly confused as to why the baby was black, but I was also stunned at this, yet there was a lot of adrenaline running through me. The imagery used to describe the scene was very detailed, therefore it felt like you were at these scene where it all happened. I think that this is very important because it was a very crucial part of the story. When Armand enters after she realises what happened, I feel sorry for her because of the way he completely ignores her, and blames everything on her, thinking it was all her fault. It just shows how society was like in those days; how they treated women by not reflecting on themselves and anything bad happens is blamed in them. Moreover, it even shows how horrible he was to black people, even when his own child was black, therefore showing what kind of status black people had at that time. The time I was most tensed was when Desiree was walking towards the bank, because I was wondering what she was going to do with herself and her child walking that way through the field, I felt quite curious, and then when she dies, I felt heartbroken at what she thought her only choice was to do. However, I thought she was quite selfish because she killed her child too, when it wasn't necessary. At the bonfire which Armand held, I was quite disgusted at the way he acted, because of the way he thoughtlessly threw everything and all their love out just because their child was black. The ending was the biggest surprise for me. It was a completely unexpected twist, which I thought was well planned and worded out. It made me feel so sorry for Desiree and angry and frustrated at Armand because of what he caused. I believe that Armand should have learnt a massive lesson from this, and again it shows how society was towards women and black people, and people like Armand only thinking about themselves and their reputation. Furthermore, I am slightly curious as to why the baby's name was not mentioned in the story. |