In this story by Kate Chopin, Desiree has a child with Armand Aubigny. Everything is wonderful after the birth of their son, and it seems everything in their life is amazing that nothing can go wrong. Yet, of course it did. As the baby grows, his skin starts to change its color showing that there is some African American blood that runs through his veins. Armand basically forces Desiree out, accusing her of not being white. Little does she know that Armand is fully aware that he is the one who is in fact not fully white. I just thought it was interesting that it was her that had to leave the house, the town, everything she had known and loved behind. All because she might have been black. As soon as I was done reading this, I could not help but think how things would have been different if she had suspected him of having African American blood. Would she have tried to force him out too? Or would she have just accepted her fate and still been happy?
I think this text plays with gender and race issues at the same time, and since it is such a short story, really causes you to go back and reread the words to find the deeper meaning. It was my first time reading Chopin, and I have to say that I was not disappointed!
Your thought on what would have happened if Desiree had suspected Armand of having African American blood is quite interesting. This definitely plays on gender roles at the time, and I think this story would have ended much differently if there had been a role reversal.
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