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September 12, 2017

Kate Chopin: Desiree’s Baby

Desiree’s Baby is one of the most popular articles of all time and more so to those who are interested in fictional historical articles. The author delves greatly on the issue of racism with Armand Aubigny being the character that is used to portray evilness and racism in particular. The issue of racism presents itself widely throughout the article and it forms the dominant theme. This study will conduct an explicit analysis on the racial aspects within the article and more particularly the views of the author on racism. The article will particularly address the role of racism and gender bias and culminate with an analysis on the views that may exist on today’s understanding of genetic inheritance.

In ‘Desiree’s Child’, Chopin unravels some of her fundamental assertions about racism through both diction and metaphor. The message of racism is first of all presented on racism through the depiction of Armand. This is presented through diction and the use of metaphors and this can be affirmed in the statement, “the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slaves (Wyatt).” Chopin throughout the article is trying to assert the prevalence rate of racism by depicting the evils of Armand and the comparison to Satan, which is ultimately a metaphor as earlier mentioned. The issue of racism is therefore widely conveyed in the article and Armand is the character that is used to display the message or the existence of racism explicitly. The issue of racism is so rampant or prevalent within Armand and this is one of the primary reasons why the author draws a comparison with the devil. The author is of the perception that Armand is one of the most evil persons and this is proven through the constant racism and hatred that is showed throughout the article. The evil nature is one of the primary reasons why he is compared to the devil.

The author Chopin widely uses racism and through the use of diction, she is able to conveniently convey his message about racism. Through the character of Armand and more particularly where the author questions whether Armand is human or not, the author portrays his views about racism. The author portrays racism as something that is bestial and so degrading to human beings and is therefore evil and this may be one of the primary reasons why the author may have referred to Armand as the devil (PBS). Through the description of the eyes of Armand as cold, the issue of racism is displayed by the author that is both unfeeling and cold.

In addition, the word white has been symbolically used as a symbol of purity and this is one of the reasons why the issue of Armand’s racism is ridiculed and also the perceptions and the views on blacks. Armand is viewed as an individual that is so racist that he is not ready to accept himself or the fact that he also shares the blood of the race that he so much hates. He looks more at the notion of being white to defend his misconceptions. This is revealed through the misconception that is the child is not white then you are not white despite the apparent fact that he knows too well that Desiree and her child are both white.

The racist notions of Armand are so prevalent that he is of the misconception that white means pure and the child is therefore not white since there is a Negro blood within the child. In addition, he also has the misconception that Desiree is not pure because she bore a child with a black man. Armand is therefore filled with the misconception that white is purity and he is filled with the misconception throughout the article. Armand has a misconception about the true meaning of white and the confusion that emanates out of the misconception unravels the confusion and the senselessness of the views and the perception by Chopin. In addition, there is also the notion of ridiculous racism on the part of Armand and this is proven by the fact that he was previously in love with Desiree and Armand breaks from her as a result of the fact that he had descended from a former slave (Wyatt). The assertions made in the study align on a large part with the modern assertions on gender inheritance.

In conclusion, the study unravels an explicit view on racism. Chopin depicts the issue of racism through Armand who is not only a racist but also evil. The racism on the part of Armand has however been brought by misconceptions. The misconceptions also unearth a state of senselessness and confusion on the part of Choplin.

Works Cited

PBS. “Desiree's Baby”. http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/library/desireesbaby.html. Web 12 September 2017.

Neal, Wyatt. “Biography of Kate Chopin”. 1995. http://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/katebio.html. Web 12 September 2017.