Desiree’s Baby Essay Example

a “Quadroon”. How could he not notice that he was biracial when his own mother’s skin complexion was much darker than his father? At the age of eight, I was able to recognize the difference in skin colors. For instance, I knew that my father a “Quadroon” because my grandmother was Black.

After all, Armand mother’s skin complexion was the main reason why he lived eight years in France (105). According to the law in that era his mother was considered to belong to the race that was “cursed by the brand of slavery” (108). In addition to his knowledge of his mother’s heritage and ethnicity, his dark skin pigmentation was a constant reminder of his true identity. The author described Armand’s features as “dark” and “handsome” [page 106]. Deep inside he always knew he was an “octaroon”.

The author writes about a letter that Armand found in his drawer while searching through Desiree’s belongings.This letter was written by his mother addressed to his father revealing that he was “cursed with the brand of slavery” (108). As a matter of fact, he didn’t find the letter, Armand always knew about the letter, he had found the letter prior to his father death and ripped the part that revealed his relationship with the Black race in order to confront his father once and for all. Perhaps, he decided to keep this piece of correspondence in his safe drawer as a reminder of the pain, suffering, and embarrassment that his mother’s heritage and ethnicity had caused him (108).This safe drawer was a symbol of everything that brought shame and embarrassment to him and to his prestigious name.

Armand

believed that by burning the items in this drawer it would give him a sense of not belonging to a race that he detested. Due to his secret knowledge of being a black man, he grew up to become an angry man. Chopin described him as a man that walked with a disfigured face as a result of the frowns in this face (106), he looked like he was possessed by the Devil: “Satan seemed suddenly to take a hold of him” [page 106].In contrast to his father’s moral beliefs, Armand abused his slaves and treated them inhumanely.

His abusive behavior towards his slaves was a way of not confronting reality, his true identity, and a sick way of dealing with his emotional pain caused by the knowledge of being part Black. He believed that his inhumane behavior would help him find peace within his soul. Abusing his slaves created a separation between who he wanted to be and who he really was. How could he abuse his slaves after acknowledging that he was just as black as they were?Why did Armand hate black people? Was it because it reminded him of his identity and heritage? Did he hate them because they had a correlation with his mother’s heritage and ethnicity? Armand hated blacks because he hated himself; in fact I believe that he hated his mother because she was responsible for his shame and embarrassment that his skin color brought to his life.

He truly believed that the value of a people depended on their skin’s complexion. Why did Armand decide to have child with Desiree after knowing the truth about his and her

heritage and her heritage?Why wasn’t he concerned about Desiree’s “obscure origin” (105)? Perhaps he didn’t love her as much as the author thinks he did. Armand used Desiree as a tool to find out if he could actually produce a white child that would carry on his last name for many years to come. After all, his last name was Aubigny, one of the most respected and prestigious names in the State of Louisiana. Armand was a selfish man that only thought about his self interest, since the first day he met Desiree he knew that he could always blame her if the child had dark complexion.

I ask myself, is Armand responsible for his wife’s suicide that claimed his son’s life (107)? Is he a murderer? Armand’s premeditated rejection to his wife and son was the driven force of their death. Armand never loved his child or his wife; the only thing he loved in life was his prestigious name and the power that came from being a white plantation owner. The birth of his baby and the discovery of his skin color represented the destruction of his marriage and an embarrassment to his social status. I can’t understand how a man could abandon his son and wife in order to maintain his status in society.To keep things in perspective, this story about secrets and self-interest, is about love versus social status.

Moreover, it’s also about race and the difference between being born black or white. It is also about discrimination towards Blacks and slavery in America. Most important, is about ignorant people that create categories for people according to the color of their skin,

heritage and ethnicity. Work Cited Chopin, Kate. “Desiree’s Baby. ” An Introduction to Literature.

Eds. Sylvan Barnet, William Burto, and William E. Cain. 15th ed. New York: Longman, 2008. 104-108