Desiree's Baby

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In the short story, “Desiree’s Baby”, written by Kate Chopin, there is a great presence of racism. This story takes place pre- civil war time in Louisiana when slavery was of importance. This story is not only based on racism but also of social acceptance and mother love. Is mother love important when it comes to racism? Is mother love enough to overcome color? Even thought there is a strong presence of mother love and also a lack of it, neither seems to produce the best end result for a child. In this short story, the most significant mother love is the love from Madame Valmonde. For example, as Desiree grew up she “grew to be beautiful, affectionate, and sincere, the idol of Valmonde” (Chopin 201). This shows that Madame Valmonde has great mother love because even though Desiree is not her blood daughter she still raises her as her own. Another example is Madame Valmonde’s response to Desiree after she is accused of not being white is “My own Desiree: Come home to Valmonde; back to your mother who loves you. Come with your child” (Chopin 205). This also shows Madame Valmonde’s mother love because whether Desiree and her child are of color or not, they are welcome and they are loved. As the story continues the love of Madame Valmonde is passed from Desiree, to her child, and to Armand. But is this mother love enough to produce the best result? As stated above, Desiree receives great mother love from Madame Valmonde, but it does not produce the best end result for Desiree. For example, Desiree does not see her child is of color until “there was something in the air menacing her peace”(Chopin 203). This shows that like Madame Valmonde, Desiree is blind to color, but she needs to be open to thought that she may be of color. Another example is when Desiree commits suicide with her child. This shows that that Desiree could not come to peace with the fact that she

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