Family Rivalry In Desiree's Baby By Kate Chopin

In “Desiree’s Baby”, Kate Chopin writes about a young girl named Desiree, who is abandoned and taken in by Madame Valmonde and her husband, however Desiree’s new family has zero knowledge of Desiree’s background. As Desiree grows up she falls in love with Armand Aubigny, who ignores the mysterious background of Desiree and asks her for marriage. During their marriage, the couple is able to have a son; although, Desiree begins to notice that her son does not have the similar appearance as a white baby. Confused and heartbroken, Desiree rushes to her husband for help, yet Armand pushes her away and forces her to leave him by claiming that Desiree is not white. With Desiree gone, Armand finds a letter from his mother who hopes that Armand will

At the beginning of Armand and Desiree’s love story, Chopin creates a reference and foreshadowing to predict the sad ending the couple will have later in the story, “What did it matter about a name when he could her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana?” (1). In this quote, Chopin makes a reference to Romeo and Juliet, by referring to when Juliet did not care about the family rivalry between her and Romeo. However, the family rivalry between Romeo and Juliet won the relationship by forcing the couple to commit suicide at the end of the story. This reference foreshadows Desiree and Armand’s relationship since Armand only paid attention to his love for Desiree and not her origin. Due to Armand turning the blind eye, he later faces the consequences by believing that Desiree did not come from a white family thus forcing Desiree to leave with her son. Chopin then later uses a new foreshadowing with Madame Valmonde, who is surprised to see Desiree’s baby, “This is not the baby” (2). While Madame Valmonde notices how the baby is different, Desiree takes her mother’s surprise as a surprise of how her baby has grown. However, Madame Valmonde seems to have a knowledge about the baby’s background as she looks at the baby in the new angle with sunlight and comparing the baby to La Blanche. Meanwhile, Desiree is blind by her love for her son that she does not take notice the color of her baby while her mother