Week 2, Question 3

Nikole Neiberger
Professor Bolaski
English 103
04 July 2009

What do you think Chopin is saying about marriage in "Desiree's Baby"? Keep in mind that, while you might think a question about marriage belongs in the "Romantic Love" section, the couple has a baby, and that baby's existence, and thus the existence of a "family" (nearly always imagined as three or more, being that most people's definition of a family require children) is important here. Do you think Chopin is commenting on how a child affects/changes marriage? Why or why not?
In the story "Desiree's Baby", there are several issues being evaluated here. The issues of social class and race being the first few that come to mind. The writer, Kate Chopin, spends an immense amount of time describing how Desiree becomes a part of the community in which she is a part of and how she had originally been basically thrown away by her family at a young age. Having no family she was at the mercy of strangers. It was a fortunate think for her when she was young she was more less adopted by Madame Valmonde who gave her a respectable family to be launched from. Originally, when Desiree's husband to be, Armand, is considering her for marriage, he takes her lack of dowery into consideration but ultimately dismisses this concern. As his character is revealed in the story it becomes apparent that perhaps her lack of lineage may have played a part of why he picked her as a mate. Perhaps he thought if he married below his status he could always feel better than his spouse and have more control in the relationship.
The race issue begins to develop in the story shortly after Desiree's baby is born. Obviously Armand and Desiree appear white and so it was expected the child they conceived together would be white. As their child grows it becomes apparent the blood lines of the child are of another ancestry. Armand uses this as a reason for his and Desiree's relationship to dissolve only to find out later the darker ancestry came from his side of the family. Based upon the snooty attitude Armand took while considering Desiree for marriage in the first place it is obvious the child nor the child's race played a part in the demise of the marriage. Armand believed himself better than Desiree from the beginning and the child factor was an excuse he gave himself to put the situation behind him. After complete digestion of the story I found it had little to do with marriage and children and more to do with social status and race.