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Literary Analysis Of Life In The Iron Mills

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Literary Analysis of Deborah and Desiree Aubigny

This assignment will be analyzing the differences in Deborah from Life in the Iron Mill written by Rebecca Harding Davis, and Desiree Aubigny from Desiree’s baby written by Kate Chopin. Desiree Aubigny is the protagonist in Chopin’s story and the wife of Armand Aubigny. The two have a child together which turns the hard heart of Armand soft, however shortly after Armand’s heart grows cold and harsh with the revelation the child is not fully white, Desiree is told by Armand to leave and she does, killing herself and the child. Deborah is a protagonist from Davis’s story Life in the Iron Mills who is selfless and caring and spends most of the story trying to get Hugh Wolfe to love her. While Deborah …show more content…

Deborah displays perseverance throughout the story, while Desiree becomes heartbroken and feels she cannot go on. Deborah is persistent in her selfless efforts to take care of Hugh Wolfe. She consistently cares for Hugh throughout the story even when she knows Hugh does not look at her in that way due to physical deformities. “’Where are ye goin’ Deb? The rain’s sharp.’ ‘To the mill with Hugh’s supper’. ‘Let him bide till th’morn. Sit ye down.’ ‘No, no,’-sharply pushing her off. ‘That boy’ll starve’” (Davis 1861/2022 pp. B-1553-B1554). Desiree Aubigny does not show perseverance in her story. She originally tries to reconcile things with her husband and find the softness of him he had when the baby was born. However, once she realizes her husband does not want reconciliation and would rather, she leaves, she goes to the bayou and kills herself and the baby. “Desiree had not changed the thin white garment nor the slippers which she wore. Her hair was uncovered, and the sun’s ray brought a golden gleam from its brown meshes. She did not take the broad beaten road which led to the far-off plantation of Valmonde. She walked across a deserted field, where the stubble bruised her tender feet, so delicately shod, and tore her thin gown to shreds. She disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks of the deep sluggish bayou; she did not come back again” (Chopin 1861/2022 pp. C567-C-568). Deborah’s perseverance throughout the story is evident in many ways while Desiree Aubigny does not show much perseverance when it comes to Desiree’s

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