1.

Text/language sites of ideological analysis

In the text there are some racist language which shows the ideological thoughts people
had in that period of the time. For instance, in the sixth paragraph the author mentions:
“The yellow nurse woman sat beside a window fanning herself” the “yellow nurse” refers
to a woman from the Asian continent and it shows that people who did not come from
Europe and United States were named by the characteristic of their skin. Another part that
shows racism appears at the end of the fifth paragraph where it says: “Young Aubigny’s
rule was a strict one, too, and under it his Negroes” this part indicates that black people
were still slave and obeyed the orders of white people.

2. Understand text in their historical/social dimensions/contexts.

The first thing to understand the context and social dimensions is to analyse the place
and the time on the text. It was in Louisiana in the nineteen century. This state is
located in the south of the United States where the slavery was stronger, furthermore,
slavery was most common in that century. Because of that, it was normal that black
people were belittled, attacked and humiliated. In that way, the thoughts that Desirée
and her husband had about the black community were according to their time.

3. Focus on power/powerlessness/empowerment.
White people had the power over black community clearly. As we wrote in the first
paragraph, Negroes and Yellow people were under the orders of Young Aubigny and
Desirée. It demonstrates that the power was dominated by only one part of the society.

4. Relation author-reader
Kate Chopin had a hard life. Although she was beautiful and got marriage quickly, her
husband (Oscar Chopin) did not success on the business. When he died, Kate
assumed all his debts and she got depress. That is why she started to write, in order to
venting her emotions and to show what Kate felt. Also, she did no started to write by an
economical purpose that is the reasons why the message and her feelings in the text
were clear and as a reader is easy to understand the intention.

5. Author beliefs/values Do they influence in the story?

Before Kate’s husband dies, they worked in a plantation of cotton. She knew how the
treatment to the slaves was and the thoughts about them. Those things she lived
influenced the story because the events in the story were much closed to her real life.

6. What sections of the society are represented/which are not? Why?

The high class are the most representative society in the story. Most of the dialogues
belong to them. For example, characters who give an opinion and speak more are
Madame Valmonde, Desirée and Aubigny and the second characters are zandrine and
La Blanche who appear few times

7. Silences. Why?
In that time the voice of slaves and black people were not important. So, they do not
appear as a main characters in the story or the give an opinion about anything. They
only obey and do what their owners want to do.
8. What ideologies? Are they challenged?
The idea of superiority of white people over the rest of people is clear, during the story
is evident that belong to the Negroes is the worst of the worst. Although Desirée
accepts her son with his physical features, she cannot accept that her husband says
that she is not white, and Desirée says: “It is a lie; it is not true, I am white! (...) Armand,
you know they are gray. And my skin is fair,” we can see the reaction of Desirée was
dramatic she could not accept that. And the author underline the reaction when she
writes: “She laughed hysterically” Therefore the ideology of superiority is remarked in
the whole story.
On the other hand, this ideology is challenged at the end of the story when Armand
reads the letter of his mother. He realizes that her mother belongs to the black
community and he has to face the reality and his beliefs.

9. What is the relevance of the story to our times?