“Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin is a short story that focused on the tragic consequences of miscegenation during the nineteenth- century. This short story took place during the period known as the antebellum period on a Louisiana plantation. During the antebellum period, racism is strongly connected with sexism during this period and the cruelty of racism resulted in the intolerance of gender and race. The setting played a significant role to support the racial and gender bias between the main protagonists’, Desiree and Armand, relationship. Desiree is the wife of Armand and the mother to her miscegenation child. Desiree was introduced to us, as an orphan before her mother, Madame Valmonde, believed Desiree was sent to her and was then adopted.
…show more content…
During the antebellum period, the men were ranked above the women. Armand was able to provide everything from her lavish “soft white muslins and laces” and Zandrine, the nanny (Chopin 86). When Armand accused her of coming from African ancestry because of their quadroon baby, Armand had the power to strip Desiree from all he had given to her because of his developed intolerance of being with anyone who has a drop of African blood. This authority above Desiree was proven when “he absented himself from home, and when there, avoided her presence and that of her child, without excuse” (Chopin 87). This baby is no longer Armand’s child but, Desiree’s baby simply because of the dark skin …show more content…
“Race” – the term is entrenched in the minds of many people as a logical way to differentiate among peoples of the world” (Cruz 436). Race can be interpreted by the color of a person skin, hair, and eyes. Race can also negativity viewed as a source of discrimination. The antebellum period discriminated women and slaves while a white landing owning man was considered powerful. The historical context of the setting is an important role of the ironic ending. The time period of the antebellum where the master of the plantation is in charge of not just his family but also his slaves. Armand owning his own plantation in Louisiana “and the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slaves” (Chopin 87) ironically, Armand’s mother “belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery” (Chopin 89). If this took place after the Civil War, the significance of the ironic ending would be as powerful. The description of slavery as a “curse” shows how powerful race has socially towards a person’s future. Armand ends up burning all of his wife and the baby’s belongings as a way to erase them away from his life but also the secret of his ancestry. Therefore, the setting exposes Armand’s characteristics of negatively towards those with black blood and associated them as weaker and slaves. Kate Chopin uses the
During the antebellum period, the men were ranked above the women. Armand was able to provide everything from her lavish “soft white muslins and laces” and Zandrine, the nanny (Chopin 86). When Armand accused her of coming from African ancestry because of their quadroon baby, Armand had the power to strip Desiree from all he had given to her because of his developed intolerance of being with anyone who has a drop of African blood. This authority above Desiree was proven when “he absented himself from home, and when there, avoided her presence and that of her child, without excuse” (Chopin 87). This baby is no longer Armand’s child but, Desiree’s baby simply because of the dark skin …show more content…
“Race” – the term is entrenched in the minds of many people as a logical way to differentiate among peoples of the world” (Cruz 436). Race can be interpreted by the color of a person skin, hair, and eyes. Race can also negativity viewed as a source of discrimination. The antebellum period discriminated women and slaves while a white landing owning man was considered powerful. The historical context of the setting is an important role of the ironic ending. The time period of the antebellum where the master of the plantation is in charge of not just his family but also his slaves. Armand owning his own plantation in Louisiana “and the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slaves” (Chopin 87) ironically, Armand’s mother “belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery” (Chopin 89). If this took place after the Civil War, the significance of the ironic ending would be as powerful. The description of slavery as a “curse” shows how powerful race has socially towards a person’s future. Armand ends up burning all of his wife and the baby’s belongings as a way to erase them away from his life but also the secret of his ancestry. Therefore, the setting exposes Armand’s characteristics of negatively towards those with black blood and associated them as weaker and slaves. Kate Chopin uses the