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Desiree's Baby Literary Analysis

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The presence of certain objects can change the course of one’s entire life. This occurs in both “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin and “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. In these stories, the protagonists are living their lives in an ordinary fashion. However, when they acquire an item, their lives are diverted from the original assumption of the protagonist’s future. The jewelry in “The Necklace” and the newborn child in “Desiree’s Baby” sever as symbols throughout the story. In the short stories “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant and “Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, the authors use symbolism as a turning point in the protagonist’s lives to convey life’s unexpectedness.
In the beginning of “Desiree’s Baby”, Desiree is content and looks forward …show more content…

While having a conversation with Madame Valmonde, Desiree states, “he hasn’t punished one of them—not one of them—since baby is born. Even Négrillon, who pretended to have burnt his leg that he might rest from work—he only laughed, and said Négrillon was a great scamp. Oh, mamma, I’m so happy; it frightens me.” (Chopin 2). The change in Armand’s character, due to Desiree’s and the baby’s presence in his life, reflects the rise of a positive relationship with both the child and Desiree. Desiree also interprets Armand’s tolerance towards his slaves’ defiance as his preparation to be a loving and caring figure in their lives. In addition, Desiree is so deeply in love with Armand that she is willing to tolerate anything in order to be by his side. This is evident when the narrator states, “When he frowned she trembled, but loved him. When he smiled, she asked no greater blessing of God.” (Chopin 2). The fact that Desiree “trembled” when …show more content…

When given the necklace, it symbolizes to both the reader and Madam Loisel that it represents the higher class. After losing the necklace and forcing her husband to borrow money for a new one, Madame Loisel “came to know the heavy work of the house…” (Maupassant 5). Due to the presence and absence of the necklace in her life, Madam Loisel had to endure working, a task she never had to before. Even though she was not working an actual job, it still hurt her to have to work at all. Since the beginning, she had the idea that she was made for a better life and that doing anything was beneath her. Therefore, the fact that she had to tend the house like the women of lower classes repulsed her. In addition, Madame Loisel’s social class plummeted lower than what is already was. Her life became contrary to what she had originally

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Armand’s father had brought him home from paris, when he was eight, after his mother died. He came from a wealthy family. According to the Armand’s father thought of Desiree didn’t seem like he was happy because the way he grew up, he wanted someone from the same wealth as them. After they had gotten married and they were expecting a baby, the day had come of the birth of the child Mrs. Valmonde was surprised about the baby when she saw it because perhaps the kid didn’t look like one of the parent’s. “ Marriage, and later the birth of his so had softened Armand Aubigny’s imperious and exacting nature greatly.”

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In the story, “Desiree’s Baby”,foreshadows the death of desiree and the baby. To begin with, in the beginning of the story Chopin first introduce as a loving nd caring person but on the other hand blind because it quotes,”Armand looked into her eyes and did not care”, from this quote, it foreshadows desiree”s death because he doesn't care about her because in the middle of the story it also quotes,”yes,

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150 Words | 1 Pages

Armand 's character significantly changes throughout the story and the way he treats his slaves is directly related to his own personal happiness. Stated in "Desiree 's Baby," Armand changed significantly from the moment he fell in love with Desiree: "What Désirée said was true. Marriage, and later the birth of his son had softened Armand Aubigny’s imperious and exacting nature greatly," (Chopin, pg. 510). His happiness is something that changes his personality on the treatment of his slaves, but after three months pass by and he sees the difference in his child his temperament changes to: "the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him and his dealings with the slaves," (511). Depending on his disposition Armand was a gentle

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858 Words | 4 Pages

Chopin uses symbolism to show Desiree’s race by stating, “The young mother was recovering slowly, and lay full length, in her soft white muslins and laces, upon a couch.” The way Chopin illustrates Desiree’s clothing leaves readers thinking of her as pure. For Desiree to represent as ‘clean,’ leaves Armand having to be mixed. When Armand plays innocent and acts harshly towards Desiree, Desiree compares her skin to his. In the story, Desiree gets frustrated because she knows she embellished white by stating, “It is a lie; it is not true, I am white!

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295 Words | 2 Pages

With the denial of his past and of his race, comes hatred and racism into Armand’s heart and actions. This goes hand and hand with the denial aspect with the usage of characterization from Chopin’s part. Racism ran high in most people’s characteristics of this time because Chopin put this story’s in pre-Civil War times. With the treatment of his slaves, you can really see how Armand feels about others from the race that he sees as less than, even though he is really one of them. The substandard treatment of Armand’s slaves only stops once Desiree gives birth to the baby, but when there was a chance of Desiree being of an African descent, Armand sent her and their child away without thought, saying “Yes, I want to go” with no emotion showing in his voice or actions (3).

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This was long before Armand knew very little of Desiree and her unknown past. He proceed to marry her and indulges her with many “fine clothes and gifts for her from paris”(Chopin 903). therefore is as if he has purchased his was through Desiree as a woman and now his wife. This part of the story reveals the way he treated

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1012 Words | 5 Pages

During the era in which this short story was written, southern authors had a major influence on the way the culture was going to grow with racism, and also the way people loved each other. Kate Chopin, a traditional author who believed in southern ways, exemplifies how race and the characteristics of conditional love played a role in her story. In “Desiree’s Baby,” the author, Kate Chopin, provides an illustration of conditional love exemplified by the character, Armand, towards his wife and child; furthermore, Chopin provides instances of irony, elements of surprise, foreshadowing, and symbolism to prove that Armand’s love for both of them was not the unconditional love typically felt and portrayed by women, such as Desiree, during this era. Throughout the story, the readers notice different times where Chopin uses elements of surprise. One major surprise is when Armand opens the letter from his mother and finds out that he has African American in his bloodline.

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1283 Words | 6 Pages

One of the many short stories by Kate Chopin is “Desiree’s Baby.” In this story, Desiree was found as a toddler under the shadow of a stone pillar by Monsieur Valmonde. He and his wife took the child in and years later, under the same shadow of the stone pillar, Desiree met her husband, Armand Aubigny. Not long after marriage, they had a child. Soon after the baby was born, Armand uncharacteristically became nice to all around him including his slaves.

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1344 Words | 6 Pages

“The Story Of Desiree’s Baby”is a story written by Kate Chopin. This story is about Madame Valmondé travels from her home on a Louisiana plantation to the neighboring plantation to visit her recently married daughter, Désirée. Désirée has given birth to her first child, and Madame Valmondé reflects that it seems not so long ago that she first held Désirée herself as a baby. Désirée was found by Monsieur Valmondé as an infant abandoned in the shadow of the stone pillar at the gate of their plantation. The Valmondés accepted the girl as their own, and Madame Valmondé believed the child had been sent to her by Providence because she couldn’t bear children of her own.

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947 Words | 4 Pages

After Armand and Desireé have their baby, there is a change in Armand. The narrator states, “This was what made the gentle Desireé so happy, for she loved him desperately. When he frowned she trembled, but loved him. When he smiled, she asked no greater blessing of God” (2). Chopin describes Armand’s influence on Desireé through Desireé’s emotions and actions.

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860 Words | 4 Pages

Armand’s love for Désirée is the epitome of conditional love. This is prevalent throughout the story - from the moment he falls in love with her until the moment he banishes her from his home and his life. Initially, Armand is struck by love so suddenly, it seems nearly impossible: “...as if struck by a pistol shot” (1). The simple imagery used her foreshadows the inevitable quick disappearance of Armand’s love as it creates a stigma of provisionalism in his emotions. Armand’s love for Désirée is reflected in the change of his mood and behavior towards her, the baby and the slaves on his plantation.

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1338 Words | 6 Pages

“Desiree’s Baby” is a short story written by Kate Chopin. One of the main characters, Desiree, has a mysterious background due to her being found as a baby orphan asleep behind a pillar near the gateway of the town. She was found by the Valmondes which were quick to take her in and raise her as their own. Desiree grew into a beautiful young lady with attractive qualities and later fell in love with a man named Armand Aubigny. Not soon after their marriage they had a handsome child.

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1556 Words | 7 Pages

Monsieur Loisel is thankful and satisfied with his current lifestyle. On the other hand, Madame Loisel believes she was meant for a more lavish lifestyle and feels bad for herself and everything she does not have. The husband gets the couple invited to a ball and Madame Loisel borrows

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882 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout life people dream and envy others who have more then what they can achieve. Some people want so much more then what they have just to fit in, that they are willing to borrow or buy something they cannot afford. Throughout The Necklace, you can see why the plot, setting, conflicts, protagonist, antagonist, symbols, and theme shows a valuable meaning of not being too prideful and to telling the truth. In this short story, it takes place in the 1800’s in what maybe France at that time.

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1128 Words | 5 Pages

Society, especially within the deep, Antebellum south, plays a major role in the actions of characters Armand Aubigny and Desiree within the short story “Desiree’s Baby”. The importance of high social status and reputation put pressure on both characters to maintain a socially acceptable image. This emphasizes the racial prejudice seen within the time period while also creating the main external conflict within the story. Kate Chopin creates tension through Armand and Desiree´s internal and external conflicts. They both struggle internally because of their family backgrounds, while their external conflict stems from prejudicial views and expectations within their society.

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