Armand Aubigny

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how readers know something important about Armand Aubigny's character by the third paragraph of Kate Chopin's short story "Desiree's Baby". The paper looks at how Aubigny is shown to be as cold as steel, a slave master and very racist, but also attempts to defend Aubigny's actions, claiming that he is a man from a culture where patriarchal and bigoted behavior is acceptable.

From the Paper:

"Rather than embrace the child and reassure one's wife, the way an average man would likely do, Aubigny leaves Desiree and child alone and retreats into his dark world. He was so racist and hateful of any color of skin not his own, he felt that Desiree had brought shame and injury upon his family name. What kind of a man would fall in love so quickly, and then brutally dominate his pretty, soft, feminine wife (taking advantage of her sweetness in order to have a son so his name can be carried on), only to push her away when the child she bore for him did not live up to his expectations? The answer is Aubigny is a man from a culture where patriarchal and bigoted behavior is acceptable. Yes, contemptible to those with grace and loving personalities, but acceptable because for many individuals, that is just how life was in the south prior to the Civil War."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chopin, Kate. "Desiree's Baby." Complete Novels & Stories: Bayou Folk. New York: The Library of America, 2002, pp. 242-247.

More papers on Armand Aubigny:

• Analytical Essay # 64178 : "Omniscient Narrative in Literature"
• Book Review # 132418 : "Two Stories of Racism and Realism"
• Book Review # 98864 : "Kate Chopin's "Desiree's Baby"

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