Tuesday, November 19, 2013

What theme is illustrated by Désirée's acceptance of blame for the baby's skin color?

Kate Chopin leaves many ambiguities in her short story "Desiree's Baby." Whether Desiree does or does not accept that she is the reason her baby has African features is unclear. In fact, initially she protests vehemently when Armand says, "It means that the child is not white. It means that you are not white." She shows Armand her hand and declares that it is whiter than his. She writes to her mother urging her to "tell them it's not true." Madame Valmonde writes back, telling her to come back home to her with the baby. There is no indication that Desiree ever believes she herself is of mixed race. On the contrary, Chopin's word choice seems to reinforce that Desiree continues to believe in her whiteness. When she lays the letter before Armand, she stands there "silent, white, motionless." When she leaves the house with the baby, "Desiree had not changed the thin white garment" that she wore, and presumably had not changed her conviction about her racial heritage. 

The only indication that suggests Desiree accepts Armand's explanation of their child's looks is that Desiree leaves the plantation when Armand says he wants her to go. However, Desiree no doubt has enough pride to not stay with a husband who expressly wants her to leave. In addition, she realizes that if she is not of mixed race, that Armand must be, and that he will never tolerate such a fact to be made known. She will need to be sacrificed for his secret.


Whether Desiree accepts Armand's explanation or whether she merely acquiesces to it, the theme her actions support is the same. The theme Chopin presents is that in a patriarchal society, a woman is powerless even if she is in the right, and she is at the complete mercy of her husband's whims, beliefs, and desires. 

No comments:

Post a Comment