In “Desiree’s Baby” everything is picture perfect in the beginning. She is madly in love with Armand and he is madly in love with her. That soon changes when Desiree has her child. So, yes I do think Chopin is commenting on how a child affects/changes a marriage. It is inevitable – a baby will change things, no matter what. There is another person that needs to be cared for and that needs to come before anything else. It can strain a marriage and sometimes even destroy it. Although a baby is hard work I do not think that the fact that raising a baby is difficult was Chopin’s main focus. For me at least, it seem she wanted to portray that marriage is not this honeymoon and nothing will go wrong. Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is bad – it is all how one deal with the good and the bad that determines what will happen next. Marriage is not a 50-piece puzzle, which is easy to put together and does not take much effort, but it is a 1000 piece puzzle that will take work.
I do agree with you that having a child brings change to a marriage but I do not think that Chopin is commenting on how a child affects/changes marriage in this story. What I think he is sharing with the reader is a story of shame, Armand's shame, and of pride, Armand’s pride, being more important to him than his family. Armand fell instantly in love “as if shot by a pistol” (662) with Desiree. As far as he was concerned “she was nameless’ (662) and by marrying her and giving her the family name she became someone. When their baby was three months old Desiree “saw an awful change in her husband’s manner” (663). I think this is the point in time when Armand either found the note his mother had written his father which said “…our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.” (665) or it is when he realized that his hope that the baby would appear white had faded away. Now when looking at the baby Armand could see his mother’s resemblance. His shame and pride were more powerful than his love and adoration for his wife and child so he sent them away. I think that his burning of all of the baby’s things after they were gone symbolizes the burning pain of loss and sadness that he felt. :) Sue
In “Desiree’s Baby” everything is picture perfect in the beginning. She is madly in love with Armand and he is madly in love with her. That soon changes when Desiree has her child. So, yes I do think Chopin is commenting on how a child affects/changes a marriage. It is inevitable – a baby will change things, no matter what. There is another person that needs to be cared for and that needs to come before anything else. It can strain a marriage and sometimes even destroy it. Although a baby is hard work I do not think that the fact that raising a baby is difficult was Chopin’s main focus. For me at least, it seem she wanted to portray that marriage is not this honeymoon and nothing will go wrong. Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is bad – it is all how one deal with the good and the bad that determines what will happen next. Marriage is not a 50-piece puzzle, which is easy to put together and does not take much effort, but it is a 1000 piece puzzle that will take work.
Jazmine,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that having a child brings change to a marriage but I do not think that Chopin is commenting on how a child affects/changes marriage in this story. What I think he is sharing with the reader is a story of shame, Armand's shame, and of pride, Armand’s pride, being more important to him than his family. Armand fell instantly in love “as if shot by a pistol” (662) with Desiree. As far as he was concerned “she was nameless’ (662) and by marrying her and giving her the family name she became someone. When their baby was three months old Desiree “saw an awful change in her husband’s manner” (663). I think this is the point in time when Armand either found the note his mother had written his father which said “…our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.” (665) or it is when he realized that his hope that the baby would appear white had faded away. Now when looking at the baby Armand could see his mother’s resemblance. His shame and pride were more powerful than his love and adoration for his wife and child so he sent them away. I think that his burning of all of the baby’s things after they were gone symbolizes the burning pain of loss and sadness that he felt.
:)
Sue