A parent’s most important goal should be the happiness of his or her child. Armand Aubingy’s parents, in “Désirée’s Baby” by Kate Chopin, are the perfect example of how far one’s mother and father should be willing to go to achieve the ultimate level of happiness for their child. On the other hand, Armand is the perfect example of how a parent’s skeletons can create horrible consequences for their child. As a result of this, Armand’s parents seem to be leading factors in his denial of his mixed racial status and cause him to have race-related issues later in life; throughout the story, Chopin highlights Armand’s knowledge of his race with the use of figurative language, symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony. By allowing him to grow
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Being that LaBlanche literally means “the white one” (Google), it is reasonable to assume that LaBlanche is not a black slave though she is a slave. Armand, after having a child with her, assumes she is black because their child developed the features of a person with a mixed ethnicity. Then, years later, he marries and sleeps with Desiree whose origin is unknown but whose complexion is fair. Once their child begins to grow older, Armand also seems to believe that Desiree has a mixed racial background as he notices that their child and his child with LaBlanche are beginning to look alike. The likelihood of both of these women, with fair complexions, being black is slim; however, it is in Armand’s best interest to continue to let the public believe that he is white to honor his family name though he also has the physical features of a mixed person. In this instance, he knew of his race and chose to keep it concealed. Also, because his letters from Desiree were in the same box as his mother’s letter to his father, there is the possibility that Armand saw and read his mother’s letter before he stood at the fire burning the belongings of his most recent possession, Desiree. Along with subtle hints, Chopin used a variety of literary devices to portray her messages to the
Being that LaBlanche literally means “the white one” (Google), it is reasonable to assume that LaBlanche is not a black slave though she is a slave. Armand, after having a child with her, assumes she is black because their child developed the features of a person with a mixed ethnicity. Then, years later, he marries and sleeps with Desiree whose origin is unknown but whose complexion is fair. Once their child begins to grow older, Armand also seems to believe that Desiree has a mixed racial background as he notices that their child and his child with LaBlanche are beginning to look alike. The likelihood of both of these women, with fair complexions, being black is slim; however, it is in Armand’s best interest to continue to let the public believe that he is white to honor his family name though he also has the physical features of a mixed person. In this instance, he knew of his race and chose to keep it concealed. Also, because his letters from Desiree were in the same box as his mother’s letter to his father, there is the possibility that Armand saw and read his mother’s letter before he stood at the fire burning the belongings of his most recent possession, Desiree. Along with subtle hints, Chopin used a variety of literary devices to portray her messages to the