"Desiree's Baby" - Review

Story - "Desiree's Baby"
Author - Kate Chopin

Main Characters:

* Desiree - Desiree is the subject of the story. She was an orphan who was discovered lying at the entrance to the Valmonde residence. Madame and Monsieur Valmonde loved her and raised her as their own child.

* Madame Valmonde - Desiree's adoptive mother who loves her daughter very much.

* Monsieur Valmonde - Desiree's adoptive father who found her sleeping by at the foot of a pillar at the entrance to the Valomde residence.

* Armand Aubigny - Became Desiree's husband after falling in love with her at first sight. He was in Paris until the death of his mother at age 8. Upon the death of his mother, his father took him home from Paris to the United States.

* Zandrine - Desiree's nurse.

* Quadroon boy - One of the young servants employed by the Aubigny household. He is depicted in the story as fanning the baby with peacock feathers.

Summary
The story is one that I'm sure has much truth to it when considering the time in which it takes place. Slavery was not abolished yet and the races were very much divided. The story begins with Madame Valmonde going on a trip to see Desiree and her baby boy. She hadn't seen them in some time and was looking forward to the visit. She could not imagine Desiree as a mother, because it seemed like yesterday that Desiree was just a small child herself.

Desiree was extremely happy being a mother and her husband Armand was equally elated being the father of a son. Upon entering her daughter's residence, Desiree's mother leaned down to kiss her daughter and the baby. In a startled tone, she announced, "This is not the baby!" Desiree laughed and shared with her mother that she knew she would be shocked at how much the baby had changed in the four weeks since she had seen him. Desiree conveyed to her mother how very happy she was and how being a father seemed to soften Armand. She stated, "Oh Armand is the proudest father in the parish, I believe, chiefly because it is a boy, to bear his name; though he says not, - that he would have loved a girl as well." She goes on to say that Armand has even been kindler to their household help since the birth and did not even become angry when one of his workers pretended to be injured in an effort to get out of work.

Things soon changed however, as when the baby boy was near 3 months old Armand began to change. He stayed away from home more often, and when at home he avoided contact with Desiree and his son. He seemed to fall out of love with her as quickly as he had fallen in love with her.

One afternoon, Desiree was relaxing in her room with her baby son while a quadroon boy fanned the half naked child with peacock feathers. It was at this moment it occurred to Desiree that her son was different. She looked at the young black boy as he fanned her son. She looked at her son and back at the boy. She spoke to the boy and motioned for him to leave the room. As the boy left the room in walked Armand. She called out to Armand and he ignored her. She then approached him and put her hand on his arm to which he abruptly removed her grip from him. She said, "Look at our child. What does it mean. Tell me." Her husband replied coldly, "The child is not white; it means that you are not white."

Desiree pleaded with her husband pointing out her caucasian features. Her eyes were gray, her hair was golden brown, and her skin was more ivory than Armands. Her husband was angered and left the room abruptly. Desiree wrote to her mother explaining the situation to which her mother replied, "My own Desiree: Come home to Valmonde; back to your mother who loves you. Come with your child."

Desiree left her husband never to return to him again. She walked through the bushes in her white dress and slippers. The thorns and sticks tore her dress to shreds and bruised her delicate feet. She never came back again.

Some time later, Armand decided to burn his wife and son's belongings. He burned her beautiful, expensive gowns and the finest layette. He burned notes and letters Desiree had written him over the years as well as one note from his own mother to his father. In his mother's note she is thanking God for the love of her husband and added, "But above all, night and day, I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery." This is where the story ends.

What if this happened to me?
I would be outraged! I would be so angry at my husband for turning his back on his own child. I would gladly walk away from the man and never look back.

What do you want to learn more about?
I got the impression that Desiree was very well dressed. I am interested in the fashion of this time period. I would like to know more about how they cared for their clothes, what kinds of fabrics they used, and I am also very interested to know what the babies layette looked like. It all sounded so wonderful!

What can I imagine that is not specifically outlined?
As I was reading this I was impressed with the mention of fine linens and the beauty that must have surrounded Desiree. I could nearly feel her love for her child as there is no greater love on earth as maternal love. I could sense her happiness in being a mother and happily married. Once it was apparent that her son looked different, I knew something was going to go awry. I felt bad as I read how Armand, who once adored his wife and child to turn so suddenly on both of them. I could feel Desirees shame in the disgust heaped upon her by her husband for something that was not within her control at all.

What was my emotional response to what I read?
In the end, I found it ironic that Armand was the one who possessed the genes that he found so offensive. I had to wonder if he was aware of this before and if he just blamed his wife because he could due to the fact that she had been orphaned. I had to believe that he was aware of his ancestry and was selfish enough to hate his wife and his own flesh and blood for something that came from him.


Would I recommend this story to others?
I would highly recommend this short story as a wonderful read. It gives insight to what I am sure was unfortunately the feeling of many people in this time period. It is very well written and the details provided by Chopin give the reader a great mental picture of the scenes and the characters appearances and demeanors.

About the author:
Chopin is the author of another wonderful story about family life, "The Awakening" is a great book with similar twists and turns as "Desiree's Baby." Chopin was born Katherine O'Flaherty to an Irish immigrant father who was killed in an accident when she was just four years old. She was highly influenced by her great grandmother who is said to have been "a great story teller." She was married to Oscar Chopin at the age of nineteen where they resided in New Orleans. Chopin's husband passed away in 1883 to leave her to raise six children on her own. She dedicated herself to her writing, often completing story in a single day all the while having the bustle of children around her.