Analysis of Kate Chopin's Desiree's Baby
Desiree Baby "There are some people who leave impressions not so lasting as the imprint of an oar upon the water” (Chopin). Kate Chopin left a lasting impression through her short stories and novels. Kate Chopin is known for being one of the greatest “feminist” authors of her time. Kate grew up in St. Louis, Missouri in 1850. While Kate was growing up, she was dealt with a lot of trauma as a young girl. At the young age of 18, Kate met her husband Oscar Chopin at a social gathering. They married in 1870 and settled back down in New Orleans, Louisiana. Oscar died of malaria in 1882 leaving Kate with six children to care for. She needed to figure out a way to provide for her family. A family friend of the Chopin’s encouraged Kate to start writing. Kate wrote stories from 1892-1895. She would submit her short stories to magazines, as well as trying to get her novels published. Some of her work that got published and she is known for is; At Fault, Bayou Folk, A Night in Acadia, The Awakening, and Desiree’s Baby. Kate is known for breaking the boundaries and writing about situations and incidents that would happen everyday but no one wanted to talk about. She as a writer and her work was banned in some libraries as well as the harsh criticism that came along with writing a brilliant novel as The Awakening. I found a quote that sums up what she went through as a writer as well as a female in the twentieth century. “She was alive when the twentieth century began, but she had been struck mute by a society fearful in the face of an uncertain dawn” (Ziff, 305). One of the short stories that Chopin is known for is Desirees Baby. The story is set in Louisiana, before the American Civil War. It opens up with Madame Valmonde talking about the day that she found Desiree by the gates in the shade. She was put there by Texans who were passing through. She accepted Desiree as her own child. Desiree had a normal childhood and grew close to one of her childhood