What Role Does Race Play In Desirée's Baby '?

513 Words3 Pages
The theme of Desirée’s Baby, by Kate Chopin, is the role of racism and gender biases during the Civil War; to be more specific, the superiority of Caucasians to African Americans, and the subordinate role of women to men. During the Civil War, women and slaves were the most oppressed beings in the world. African Americans were looked down upon and seen as a lesser human only because of the color of their skin. Likewise, women were looked down upon only because society said they were to be. In Desirée’s Baby, Desirée has a child, and as the child grows, Desirée notices a change in her baby that changes her entire life. She was watching her baby one day when she noticed that her baby was not of pure caucasian descent and, “the blood turned like