Desiree's Baby Q&A

Desiree believes that she has no choice but to kill herself because of her belief that she is part black. This fact about her genealogy doesn't just cause her shame but it also has rather practical implications. Her black heritage would render her marriage to Armand void, and make her child with him to be illegitimate. She isn't just affected by Armand's action but also by the response that she is likely to witness from the rest of the whites of Louisiana as is evidenced by her letter to Madame Valmonde. She asks her mother to convince both Armand and a figurative 'them' that refers to the rest of society.

The letter from Armand's mother serves as a great twist ending to the story, as the reader is left in shock over Armand's heritage. This heritage is all the more surprising due to Armand's prestigious family history, and his reprehensible treatment of black slaves. We leave Armand with the painful knowledge that he is of the same race as those he has been treating as if they were less than human.

It is evident that Armand sees Desiree as a part of his property rather than an individual human being. This is indicated not just by his hasty courtship that chiefly involves buying her expensive gifts, but also by his reaction when he comes to believe that she is part black. He begins to ignore her and then burns the gifts that he had purchased for her and his baby.