Book review of kate chopin's desiree's baby

1. Desiree’s Baby
A Book Review by Carmina Cadayona
Chopin, M., Desiree’s baby, Vogue, 1893,1-8.
Kate Chopin made a prominent exhibition on how easily love may fade away in
opposition to arising pride. The author awakens the eyes of every reader to the possibility of
losing happiness in an instant. The story also introduces the three distinct elements of happiness
namely the contentment (satisfaction of one’s life); Welfare (satisfaction on one’s wants and
desires); and dignity (ability to control and define one’s own destiny, and freedom to live a life
of one’s choosing).
Chopin described Desiree as an orphan with unknown heritage. She is an innocent
damsel who married Armand Aubigny, a man who’s very proud of his family name. Not only he
has the famous name but he himself is the one and only owner of slaves in their town. The
relationship between the two became real blissful. Amidst the story, Chopin mixed the tranquil
relationship with a mysterious twist. When Desiree gave birth to their baby, Armand gone irate
after seeing the physical appearance of the child he was waiting for. It possesses the image of the
imperfect slave he hated the most. In Armand’s disgust, he made them suffer and then he pushed
them away. Upon knowing the other side of Armand, Chopin brought up the suffering. Desiree
undergoes a lot of stress, distress and pain and it walked her to the suicidal idea.
The primary talk of the story Desiree’s baby by Kate Chopin was the kind of love
Desiree and Armand had for each other and for their baby. It also shows how Armand’s Pride
overcome the love he had for his wife. There is also a sense of karma in the story. Kate Chopin
wrote it down during the era of slavery where blacks were identified as the lowest rank of people
or slaves. The historical background puts race and heritage into the story as the key points to be
seen and understood. Chopin made it even more interesting as she ended the story with a
remarkable revelation. While Armand was clearing up all of Desiree’s things, he saw a letter
right inside an old ghastly cabinet from her late mother saying he has a blood of a slave. When
he figured it out, he felt real bad and hated himself not because he belong to the slavery race, but
having the reason that he forsake the woman who did nothing but to love him despite of his
imperfectness. Nevertheless, it was too late back then when Armand known the reality for
Desiree already gave up her existence.
In my own perception, the story was very tragic yet it gives a lot of moral lesson. We
must not define love through rank in life, appearance and even in cultural backgrounds. In the
very start of the story, I can see Armand is a man of a great pride. The cost of happiness for him
was the second and the third element which are the welfare and the dignity.

2. He is not contented with the life he had even though he already have it all. This man is
happy but he doesn’t possess eudaimonia or the good spirit. He is happy on his own way. He
never fits on any philosophical perception towards happiness. He smiles but therefore I conclude,
after all of my evaluations, he has the fake happiness or literally, he is not happy. Controlling
everyone around him was his thing. It is in his nature to be selfish since he lives in a luxurious
life. Heeding Desiree’s explanation has never been in his mind. Armand was covered with wrath.
What’s ridiculous is that he’s anger come from a wrong thought. He abandoned his responsibility
on his child. In addition to that, he made his wife drown in tears and sufferings. Thinking about
Desiree’s feeling had never been his priority after all. All he cares was the name he had for years.
His only goal was to keep the family name clear as crystal. But then, in his way of maintaining it,
he forgotten his role and responsibility as a husband and father.
On the other side, Desiree is a sweet and innocent woman. And due to this kind of
description, he did not notice he married the wrong man. Within the story, all she did was to be
faithful and loyal with her husband even when its attitude’s real inappropriate. Desiree is a
woman of contentment. She is satisfied with her life before he met Armand. She was contented
before her husband done her a sanction of having a blood of a slave. Desiree was subjected to
hardship when she marries him. She tolerated long enough for Armand. I was just disappointed
when she gave up, though I could not blame her. If only she continued to live life in contentment
even she has sufferings. If only she just escape the mental suffering Armand caused her. She
reached the point of fear and anxiety which was according to Angst, a crisis brought when a
person begins to question her purpose. Desiree loses her hope on Armand and thought he’ll be
happy without her. But then, she never knew that suffering is inevitable as what Friedrich
Nietzsche said. Suffering is a part of our life as well as happiness. There would be no happiness
without sufferings. Escaping suffering is not a solution. One must learn to face it for it will never
leave you. Suffering may seem bad but it gives you a preparation on much more sadness and
distress. Death doesn’t indicate end of suffering. Desiree is faithful and loyal to her husband but
not that much to God because if she does, suicidal thought wouldn’t run in her mind at all.
I can say that the story was perfectly made. The blending of plots was balanced and the
message was properly delivered. The content is teeming with moral values and I could tell it is a
masterpiece work of the author. Happiness is the correlation of sufferings. How would you ever
know that you are happy if you never encountered sufferings? If there is happiness, there will
always be sufferings. If there are smiles, there would always be tears. All human must trust God;
only by this we could achieve happiness. But then, happiness is a choice.
"Happiness depends on ourselves.’’ Aristotle once said.