Innocence and disilussion in Desiree's Baby - Essay Example

Why it seemed but yesterday that Desiree was little more than a baby herself." Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin is a touching tale of how both love and pride affect all our actions. Love is a quality gifted only to some people. "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful………Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." On the other hand, Pride has the opposite effect because it is egged on by a hatred of falling below ones standards.

Pride makes a person so selfish because it centers on “self” and is totally destructive. Kate Chopin depicts the protagonist Desiree as a "beautiful and gentle, affectionate and sincere young woman."(p. 31) and then shuttles between the love and pride that effects all the choices made by all the characters in the story. Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby,” is so realistic in its portrayal because of her creation of lifelike and believable characters. She relies on a lot of symbolism and imagery lending depth and innocence to her characters.

To highlight social divisions she uses color imagery such as black and white. She also uses Biblical connotations such as comparing Desiree with God and Armand to Satan. Chopin brings Desiree’s innocence forward when she wholly accepts Armand’s love for not guessing that he has a deep seated desire as well as hatred towards her racial background. Armand’s world seems ironic as he builds up an image of white supremacy and traps himself within its walls. Armand goes to the extent of discarding Desiree and getting involved with a white mistress, La Blanche.

Though she is fair – skinned, yet she is of mixed blood from a slave background. The actual irony is that Armand is dark- skinned and evil but portrays himself as white and good. Desiree is so innocent and childlike and does not guess what is going through Armand’s mind. Though Armand knows well about the truth of his ancestry, yet he has