Week 2 Question 3

when Armand's father brought him from Paris he was eight years old. wouldn't a child of this age have recollection of what his mother looked like? the description of Armand on page 663 was that his face was dark and handsome. when Madame Valmondé came to visit she did not mention anything to Désirée about the baby's race because Désirée was so happy and she may have questioned Désirée's race due to the fact that she did not know her families history. the people working for him knew of his race but out of fear never told him the truth. i think Chopin was showing that the child brought a change in Armand's perception of what a family should be based on race more so than Désirée. he made a decision not to be with his wife because he thought she was black. the story never said that he did not love them. he was ashamed of what he thought was her race. Désirée did not want to end her marriage and i do not believe that she was not going to accept him if she knew that he was the one who was black. before she left she asked Armand, "Do you want me to go?" if he had said no. i believe she would of stayed. as a result due to his rejection of them, she ended up killing herself and the baby because he no longer wanted them.