English 11 Honors
Catherine Phamduy
Realism
4/16/12
Desiree’s Baby
The short story of Desiree’s baby is about the cruel reality of the South before the
Reconstruction era. The story starts off with the strange beginning of Desiree’s life at the Valmonde’s
when she was left abandoned by a supposed group of Texans. She was raised affectionately and well
mannered, thus catching the attention of Armand Aubigny. They later married. And Desiree went up in
status because of the notorious Aubigny family name. Having given birth to a son, Mistress Valmonde
went to visit Desiree, which upon Desiree tells how happy she is that Armand no longer tortures the
slaves since the birth of the son. However, the happy situation changed when the truth was known that
the baby was not “white”, and that is it assumed that Desiree is not fully “white” either, because of her
strange background. Therefore, she had dealt an “unconscious injury” towards the Aubigny name and
Armand no longer loved her. Thus, she was sent back to her family, the Valmonde’s. Instead of going
home, Desiree disappears among the deserted fields, never to be seen again. A short period of time
later, Armand is found to be burning his wife’s possessions, along with a letter from his mother to his
father about Armand’s true origins. It was a letter that directly states that Armand is not purely white,
that he “belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery”, thus meaning that Desiree had
been innocent all along.
Despite it remarkably short story, the author was able to keep the suspense until the very end of
the story. At the beginning, the suspense was already built up when it was apparent that Desiree’s birth
was shrouded in mystery, and it was described that Desiree had been sent by “a beneficent Providence”,
thus making readers wonder what could be Desiree’s real beginning. This provides suspense because the
interesting beginning keeps reader eager to read more. Furthermore, in several months, a problem
arose in the baby, and the happy marriage turned sour. This adds suspense because it was not explicitly
said what the problem was, except that it involved the baby and the relationship between husband and
wife. This leaves suspense because the problem can range from a variety of an unfaithful husband or
that the baby is sick and so on. The tension builds up when it is found that Desiree is not white nor is her
baby. However, susupense does not end there because Desiree later wrote a letter to her mother, in
which came with a curt reply is coming back to her mother. This adds suspense because not only is
Desiree not loved by her husband, but she also does not come home, but leaves into the fields, never to
return. The last piece of suspense that leaves an impression of many readers is that later. The husband
burns all Desiree’s possessions, having learned that he himself was half black and had tarnished his
family name from the very beginning.
The suspense keeps building up throughout the story, and especially so at the end when Desiree
left. Her fate could be guessed on so many conclusions, yet it will not be actually known. Also, at the
very end, when the truth was known, it adds an ironic twist of one’s fate in the world. Despite his
contempt to the black race, Armand was actually back himself, unconsciously tarnishing his family name.
the suspense ends here with readers to think about realism and how one’s fate cannot be changed.