# Désirée’s Baby explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Kate Chopin.

## What happens

Madame Valmondé visits her adopted daughter Désirée and her newborn baby at L’Abri, the Aubigny plantation. She notices the child's changed appearance and asks about Armand's reaction. Désirée is blissfully happy, as Armand has become kinder since the birth. However, as the baby grows, Désirée senses a change in Armand's behavior and the atmosphere. She realizes the child has features suggesting African ancestry. Armand coldly accuses her of not being white, and despite her desperate denial and a letter from Madame Valmondé urging her to return home, he insists she leave. Désirée walks into the bayou with her child and never returns. Later, Armand burns all of Désirée's belongings, including her letters. In the fire, he discovers a letter from his mother revealing that she, not Désirée, belonged to the race cursed with slavery.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Class and Identity

The story explores how racial identity and family name determine social standing, and how the revelation of mixed ancestry destroys Désirée's place in society.

### Love and Marriage

Armand's love for Désirée is conditional on her perceived racial purity, and it evaporates when he believes she is not white, revealing the fragility of their marriage.

### Sacrifice and Redemption

Désirée sacrifices herself and her child by walking into the bayou, while Armand's discovery of his mother's letter offers a bitter, ironic redemption.

## Character check-ins

### Désirée

The gentle and loving wife of Armand Aubigny, who becomes the victim of racial prejudice and is driven to despair.

### Armand Aubigny

The proud and imperious husband who rejects Désirée and their child upon suspecting African ancestry, only to later discover his own mixed heritage.

### Madame Valmondé

Désirée's adoptive mother, who visits L’Abri and notices the baby's changed appearance, later urging Désirée to return home.

## Key lines

> It means,” he answered lightly, “that the child is not white; it means that you are not white.

Armand casually tells Désirée that their baby shows signs of African ancestry, and therefore she must not be white.

_This is the pivotal moment where Armand's accusation shatters Désirée's world._

> But, above all,” she wrote, “night and day, I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.

Armand's mother thanks God that her son will never learn she is of African descent, revealing the irony that Armand himself is not fully white.

_The final revelation that Armand's own mother was Black, making his rejection of Désirée tragically hypocritical._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_33_se/chapters/d-sir-e-s-baby
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_33_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_33_se/chapters