Race and Gender in Kate Chopin's Desiree's Baby Essay Example

In “ Désirée’s Baby”, Kate Chopin employs racial and gender normalities to portray a loss of social status and self-recognition, which creates misplaced burdens and guilt for Désirée. The author puts Desiree on a high social pedestal, writing “ The girl grew to be beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere,---the idol Valmondé”(Chopin 189). Immediately, the author distinguishes the young lady as attractive, bestowing her with confidence and strength in her approach to the world. These  femine physical and personality traits give her the opportunity to advance higher in social status  and marry Armand Aubigny. Chopins writes” Did it matter about a name when he could give her one of the oldest and proudest”(Chopin 190).  The societal expectations were that a wife was supposed to be a part of her husband and strive to satisfy their spouse’s needs. Consequently, Désirée’s identity and value become synonymous with Aubigny because she is a woman. Those expectations become problematic and are a catalyst for the downfall of Désirée.

The racial element in the story provides context for the reasons why Désirée lost her true self. The realization of the baby’s race is noted by Chopin” She looked from her child to the boy who stood beside him, and back again;, over and over”(Chopin 192). The ethnicity of the child induces stress and anxiety in the wife because she will be blamed. Her physical appearance suggests nothing of being African-American but her marriage will not survive. The emotional separation from her husband erodes her self-awareness, enabling her exile to the Louisiana bayou. Chopin observes the confrontation between husband and wife, “It means, (...), that the child is not white; it means that you are not white”(Chopin 192). Armand Aubigny views himself as a wealthy, white man and his child being black brings shame onto that image. His only escape is to put the blame onto his wife and he adopts a cold demeanor to help succeed in driving Désirée away. At the end of the chapter, Chopin writes “ Our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery”(Chopin 194). Armand Aubigny’s failure to acknowledge his true identity causes his wife’s undoing. Desiree accepts her husband’s burden and as a result loses her place in the world.