The Use of Imagery in Desiree's Baby
             "Desiree's Baby," by Kate Chopin, is a short story that explores the issues of race and racial prejudices, and the role of identity. The tragic story, set in the slavery era of antebellum Louisiana, was a time when there was no tolerance for mixed ancestry. One found to be of mixed blood would be outcast from the community. It was also a difficult time for women and blacks because of the authority of white men over them. Chopin's use of imagery to present the settings and to describe the characters adds to the story, and is part of her technique, which enables the reader to better visualize the events taking place and the feelings of the characters. The story begins when the wealthy plantation owner, Armand Aubigny, falls in love with and marries a beautiful girl named Desiree, whose ancestry is unknown. Eventually, Armand abandons Desiree and their baby when he realizes that his son is a quadroon, a child of black and white heritage, and believes that his wife is black. Armand's racial prejudices are used against him in the end when he discovers that he is of the very race he despises. In "Desiree's Baby," a careful reader can observe Chopin's skillful use of imagery to stimulate the senses.
             Chopin uses imagery to present the setting of "Desiree's Baby." The French atmosphere is apparent in the story reminding the reader of the French heritage in Louisiana. The proper names, such as Valmonde, L'Abri, Desiree, and Aubigny, are all French. Monsieur Valmonde found Desiree as a baby "lying asleep in the shadow of the big stone pillar" (Chopin 185) of Valmonde plantation. It was also the place that "Armand Aubigny riding by and seeing her there, had fallen in love with her" (185), "as if struck by a pistol shot" (185). His love for her "swept along like an avalanche, or like a prai...