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Desiree's Baby Literary Analysis

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Through the fictional story Desiree’s Baby, written by Kate Chopin, we follow the story of Desiree, a young woman adopted by Monsieur, who found her under a stone pillar. After being raised by Monsieur and his wife, Madame Valmonde, Desiree marries deep pocketed Armand Aubigny; eventually, having a child with Armand. However, Desiree’s life unfolds drastically, as she learns her baby is not as pure bred as she had assumed. This revelation, along with Armand’s cold shoulder upon also learning of his baby’s true origins, leads to the suicide of Desiree, via drowning; along with her baby, however. Furthermore, Armand, having been the one to lead to Desiree’s suicide due to his stubborn prejudice, learns his mother was of African descent. Chopin

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Desiree's Baby Literary Analysis

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...slaves worked on plantations and women in the south were beginning to fight for freedom. An analysis of Kate Chopin’s story “Desiree’s Baby” uses plot structure to build up suspense for the climax, to get the audience situated on the same suspicion, and to create an ironic ending, so that she can show the audience her point of view on how women always seemed to be the culprit. Kate gives a brief description of each characters, but the way she describes Desiree makes the audience immediately aware that her past might affect her in some way down the line. Chopin built up this suspense for the climax of the story. “The prevailing belief was that she had been purposely left by a party of Texans”. (80-81) Chopin explains that Desiree’s past remains unclear and since it is not concrete, it leaves her past open to discussion. Chopin builds suspense...

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