Desiree's Baby Literary Analysis

Strict codes of gender behaviors characterize the Victorian era , and was a model of morality and propriety. A corset is a symbol that represents the expectations of perfection from women in this era. The corset gives emphasis to the chest, hips, and butt which gave the sexual objectivity about a woman. In Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin, the protagonist's family, Desiree’s family, gave her away as a baby, and a woman named Madame Valmonde found her upon a stone wall. Now, Desiree has given birth to a baby whose complexion matches not of the parents. The husband, Armand Aubigny, blamed Desiree for why the baby, looks this way, and kicks her out of the house. Through the lens of feminism, Chopin reinscribes the idea of Victorian morality by using

Desiree, while sitting with her baby, notices that the baby’s skin has become a darker skin tone, and so she asks her husband what does this mean. Claim-Warrant: By invoking the idea of being “white”, Chopin illustrates how the Victorian culture views innocence only in the woman. Ironically, Armand says that Desiree is not “white”, which presents this notion that if there is a “flaw”. She is now not seen as pure, but of “imperfection”. Chopin instills this idea of “perfection” through the use of white as a skin color. Chopin’s use of whiteness shows that she is still perpetuating the idea of what is means to be a woman in the Victorian era. After Armand had asked her to leave the house, Chopin describes Desiree’s current state: Lit Device: Chopin uses the symbol of whiteness in this quote to contradict the thought of Desiree being “imperfect”. She has yet to change the “white garment” even though she has left the house. Her action suggests that Desiree is keeping her purity clear, and her innocence. In the first quote, Chopin focuses on whiteness as being a negative factor against Desiree, but this second quote gives a contradiction to that notion, stating that whiteness is the morality inside of Desiree. So even though Armand blames her for the flaws, she is still

In the beginning of the story, Chopin is elucidating the history of Desiree. She ends this paragraph by saying: Authorial Intent: Chopin utilizes the feminine ideal description of Desiree to emphasize the Victorian assumptions of a woman. As a result, the reader depicts Desiree as being feminine rather than having power. In this era, women do not have power, and Chopin describing her this way demonstrates that being feminine is the only thing to strive for. During this time, Armand has told Desiree to leave the house. Chopin then describes her appearance as she is walking: Motif: Throughout the story, Chopin embedded gentle, feminine descriptions, “tender feet” and “delicately shod” to reinforce the unending sense of Victorian expectations of women during this time. These descriptions, cause society to view women to as “delicate” rather than strong. Even though, Desiree had the strength to leave her husband with the baby, Chopin describes her as being like a “flower”. Through these two quotes, the author uses delicate words, not to illustrate the power of her character, but to make her seem like the perfect female she that this era needs her to