Desiree's Baby
Desiree's baby
What is Kate Chopin’s message about the importance of identity, based on the perspective of the following characters?
a) Madame Valmonde
What is Kate Chopin’s message about the importance of identity, based on the perspective of the following characters?
a) Madame Valmonde
Madame Valmonde is the stepmother of Desiree. When she visits her stepdaughter and her baby, she notices that her grandson looks different than the last time she saw him. It is apparent that Desiree does not see anything wrong with the baby, so she does not tell her anything. After a couple of months, she receives a desperate letter from Desiree, asking her to assure her daughter of her whiteness, as Armand suggests otherwise. Madam Valmonde responds to Desiree with a letter asking her to come back to live with her at Valmonde. I think that Madame Valmonde understands what is going on and that the racial identity of the baby has more to do with Armand than Desiree.