Kate Chopin wrote "Desiree's Baby" in 1893 during the Antebellum period. The story takes place in Creole Louisiana where tensions were very high after the Civil War and the end of slavery. During this time, not only were African Americans trying to find their place in society as freed individuals, there was also the matter of people who were mixed race trying to assimilate as well. Because plantation owners had children with slaves, there were many...
Kate Chopin wrote "Desiree's Baby" in 1893 during the Antebellum period. The story takes place in Creole Louisiana where tensions were very high after the Civil War and the end of slavery. During this time, not only were African Americans trying to find their place in society as freed individuals, there was also the matter of people who were mixed race trying to assimilate as well. Because plantation owners had children with slaves, there were many mixed race people at the time and some whose origins were unknown. Racism was still rampant and people with any black heritage were discriminated against.
It would be important for a reader to know this cultural and historical information when reading "Desiree's Baby" because the story deals with miscegenation (the mixing of people from different races) and its consequences at the time. When Armand discovers his baby has black characteristics, his behavior changes and events are set in motion as a result that lead to Desiree's and the baby's demise. Chopin situated the story in this milieu to show the tragic effects of a society still not acculturated to the changing demographic of the country.
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