Desirre's Baby
"Desiree's baby" is a love story set in the 1800's on the L'Abri Plantation in Louisiana during the time of slavery. Armand is the wealthy plantation owner who falls in love with the daughter of a neighboring plantation owner. There is a family secret that Armand has never been told. He finds out about this family secret at the end of the story when he finds a letter written to his father from his mother. What the contents of this letter reveal to Armand makes the reader go back and examine the irony found in the story. In the 1800's a family's heritage was very important when a young man was considering who to marry. Armand had fallen in love with Desiree when he was only eight and he now wished to make her his wife. Before Monsieur Valmonde would give his consent, he wanted to make sure that Armand understood about her vague bloodlines."He was reminded that she was nameless. What did it matter about a name when he could give her one of oldest and proudest names in Louisiana" (76)? We now know that it really does matter to Armand about her namelessness after she gives birth to his son. Madame Velmonde comes to visit Desiree and the baby when the baby is four weeks old. She is amazed when she sees the baby.
Desiree is so horrified and saddened that Armand has turned his back on her and their baby; she takes the baby and sets off toward the swamp with every intention of dying. Armand shuns his wife and child that he was so proud of just days before. What does this mean" (78)? He accuses her of not being white. She tries to make eye contact with Zandrine to confirm her worst fears, but Zandrine will not look at Madame. . At this point, Armand still is not aware of the family secret. "He absents himself from home; and when there, avoids Desiree and that of her child" (78). Armand tells her "because the child is not white; it means that you are not white" (78). Desiree finally realizes that her baby is not pure white while La Blanche's son is fanning him. Zandrine knows that the baby is not pure white. He makes the decision to lose his family so that he will not bring disgrace to the Aubigny name. At the end of the story, Armand has his slaves build a great bonfire.
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