36 pages • 1 hour read
Desiree's Baby
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Symbols & Motifs
Catholicism
Catholicism emerges as a motif in “Désirée’s Baby.” Madame Valmondé describes Désirée as a gift from God: “Désirée had been sent to her by a beneficent Providence to be the child of her affection” (Paragraph 3). Chopin describes Armand, however, in terms of Satan, rather than of God: “the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slaves” (Paragraph 19). He believes himself to be the victim of punishment by God: “He thought Almighty God had dealt cruelly and unjustly with him; and felt, somehow, that he was paying Him back in kind when he stabbed thus into his wife’s soul” (Paragraph 36). He inflicts punishment on Désirée and is, at the end of the story, a kind of victim of his own hatred. Catholic notions of judgment and damnation are echoed in the events of “Désirée's Baby.”
Clothing and Belongings
When Madame Valmondé sees Désirée at L’Abri, the image is regal, even Biblical: “The young mother was recovering slowly, and lay full length, in her soft white muslins and laces upon a couch” (Paragraph 7). The “soft white muslins and laces” produce an angelic or saintly effect, and Désirée’s personality and spirit in her early days of motherhood mimic this visual. Later, when she leaves L’Abri on foot through a field, the disintegration of Désirée’s clothing symbolizes her own disintegration: “the stubble bruised her tender feet, so delicately shod, and tore her thin gown to shreds” (Paragraph 42). Désirée’s delicate clothing symbolizes her “whiteness”—not an innate trait but rather a superficial quality that can be stripped from her by external forces.
Chopin extends the symbolism of fabric and furnishings when Armand burns Désirée’s belongings, describing the items in painstaking detail:
A graceful cradle of willow, with all its dainty furbishings, was laid upon the pyre, which had already been fed with the richness of a priceless layette. Then there were silk gowns, and velvet and satin ones added to these; laces, too, and embroideries; bonnets and gloves; for the corbeille had been of rare quality (Paragraph 45).
Armand’s wasting of Désirée’s refined and precious belongings is symbolic of the way Armand first prizes Désirée and then casts her aside. However, when he goes to burn her letters and to erase the history of their relationship, he also finds a letter belonging to his father. This is symbolic of how, if he condemns his own relationship on the basis of race, he also necessarily condemns his parents’ relationship.
The Absoluteness of White Male Power in the Antebellum South
One motif in “Désirée’s Baby” is the absolute power of white men in the American South in the years preceding the Civil War. Armand Aubigny embodies this power structure, as he holds power over the other characters. When Madame Valmondé first sees her grandchild, she doesn’t voice her concern. Instead, she asks Désirée about Armand’s opinion: “‘Yes, the child has grown, has changed;’ said Madame Valmondé, slowly, as she replaced it beside its mother. ‘What does Armand say?’” (Paragraph 14). It is Armand's opinion that Madame Valmondé understands will ultimately matter, and of course, his judgment becomes critical to Désirée: “When the letter reached Désirée she went with it to her husband’s study, and laid it open upon the desk before which he sat. She was like a stone image: silent, white, motionless after she placed it there” (Paragraph 31). Désirée is described as being stone-like—without her husband’s verdict, she literally can’t move. Finally, when Désirée’s mother invites her to come home, Désirée asks Armand what to do. He says, “Yes, I want you to go,” (Paragraph 35), and she does. Armand is powerful over Désirée and over the people he enslaves. His moods and whims govern the lives of others. On Earth, his power is absolute. His only punishment comes at the hands of circumstance, or, because he’s Catholic and perceives events through a religious lens, at the hands of his God.
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By Kate Chopin
