Racial Conflict In Desiree's Baby, By Kate Chopin

Register to read the introduction… He was French catholic in background, as was Kate. After their marriage they lived in New Orleans. Before their first decade, they had five boys and two girls. Oscar failed in his business; therefore they were forced to move to his old home in a small Louisiana parish. Her life in Louisiana affected her writings late. One of the main conflicts in this time was the conflict between the whites and the blacks, and the racial issues. She depicted this conflict in her short story “Desiree's Baby”. Desiree was the adopted daughter of Monsieur and Madame Valmondé, who were wealthy Creoles in Louisiana. She was courted by the son of another wealthy, well-known and respected Creole family, Armand. They appear very devoted to one another and eventually have a child. People deserved that the child had black roots, which they regarded shame. Then, Armand gave up on his wife and child as he assumed that Desiree because of her unknown roots was part black. But at the end of the story he found out that he was the one who was part …show more content…
The title of the short story refers to the time between the moments at which the protagonist, Louise Mallard, heard that her husband was dead and discovered that he was alive after all. When Mrs. Mallard sister and family friend discovered Mr. Mallard got killed in an accident, they took time to gently tell Mrs. Mallard that her husband had died. Mrs. Mallard cried her eyes out, then went to her room to be by herself and locked the door. Inside, she didn’t believe that she got her freedom. Even though she didn’t hate her husband, and she was truly saddened by his death, she felt liberated and free for the first time. She looked forward to the days ahead instead of dreading them. Suddenly, the very not-dead Mr. Mallard came in. When Mrs. Mallard saw him, she had a tremendous shock and