LITERARY CRITICISM

RENI RACMAWATI

2250408018

CLASS 307 – 308

Binary Oppositions in Kate Chopin’s “Désirée’s Baby”

Armand, and Désirée are the two main characters that are talked about in the story
“Désirée’s Baby.” Even though the story begins with Désirée’s mother telling the story,
the story quickly switches over to the thoughts and actions of Désirée as well as her
husband Armand. Armand is a round character in the story, for he undergoes a change
by the end of the story. He is the only one who reaches a moment of sudden and great
revelation at the end of the story when he discovers the true facts of his mother’s origin,
and that he is in fact part black. Armand is a willful and headstrong character. Armand
is also defined by both his actions and by the images clustered around him. Désirée, who
is the other main character in the story, is Armand’s wife as well as mother to their
child. Désirée, in contrast to her husband, is a flat character. She is consistent with her
emotions and feelings toward Armand throughout the story. Even though she is deeply
hurt and shocked by Armand’s reaction and behavior towards the fact that their baby is
black, she still loves him at the end of the story just as she did in the beginning. She is
the protagonist in the story because she is the one character who doesn’t react poorly to
the fact that her baby is black. Unlike Armand, who completely blows the whole
situation out of proportion, Désirée isn’t the one who has the problem. She is presented
with the problem or conflict, and is not responsible for creating it. Désirée is also
defined by her actions and by the images clustered around her.

“It was no wonder, when she stood one day against the stone pillar in whose shadow she had lain
asleep, eighteen years before, that Armand Aubigny riding by and seeing her there, had fallen in love
with her. That was the way all the Aubignys fell in love, as if struck by a pistol shot.”

It was the start when Armand fell in love with Désirée at first. His love towards her
continued after their marriage and they had a baby, and changed his attitude as well.
“she added, drawing Madame Valmonde's head down to her, and speaking in a whisper, "he hasn't
punished one of them - not one of them - since baby is born. Even Negrillon, who pretended to have
burnt his leg that he might rest from work - he only laughed, and said Negrillon was a great scamp. Oh,
mamma, I'm so happy; it frightens me." What Desiree said was true. Marriage, and later the birth of his
son had softened Armand Aubigny's imperious and exacting nature greatly.”

Desiree’s love towards Armand which continuously shown in the story.

“This was what made the gentle Desiree so happy, for she loved him desperately. When he frowned she
trembled, but loved him. When he smiled, she asked no greater blessing of God. But Armand's dark,
handsome face had not often been disfigured by frowns since the day he fell in love with her.”

Moreover, her love continued although her husband had been changed because he
realized that the baby wasn’t White. While Armand started to ignore her and their baby
as well. He didn’t believed that the one who was Black was Desiree since she was
unnamed before, although at first he did not matter about it, because he could give her
the name. In addition, the change of Armand’s behavior made him sent his wife and his
baby as well out of his house, he did not want to accept their blood. In this story shown
that Armand was the only one who reached a moment of sudden and great revelation at
the end of the story when he discovers the true facts of his mother’s origin, and that he
wass in fact part black.

“"But above all," she wrote, "night and day, I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that
our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed
with the brand of slavery."”

By reading this short stories, I came up with the idea of Binary Oppositions or
conceptual oppositions objected by Derrida. For each center, there exists an opposing
center. Western philosophy holds that in each of these binary oppositions or two
opposing centers, one concept is superior and defines itself by its opposite or inferior
center.

Using the theory to read the story, I can draw the following analogy regarding the binary
oppositions of the characters, Armand and Desiree. The both characters are in the
contrast of each other. We can also symbolize characters with Dark, defined Armand’s
characters, and Light, defined Desiree’s characters. The darkness of Armand’s
characters shown by his attitude toward the Negro and his change of love toward
Desiree while he pound that their baby was Black. He simply believed that the one who
had the Black blood was Desiree, he never came up with the believe that maybe he was
the one. He sent his wife and baby out of his house without hesitate just because the
unconscious injury Desiree had brought upon his home and his name. While the other
character, Desiree which showed the lightness. Désirée`s characters are delightful, for
the love that shown by the people toward her. She was nameless, an adopted child that
was admired by her adoption mother. She was a woman whose husband loved. She was
a mistress that loved by society. She was loyal to her husband, although she frightened
of what her husband did, disbanded the Negro for their slavery brand. She admired both
her husband and her baby. She is consistent with her emotions and feelings toward
Armand throughout the story. Even though she is deeply hurt and shocked by Armand’s
reaction and behavior towards the fact that their baby is black, she still loves him at the
end of the story just as she did in the beginning. She is the protagonist in the story
because she is the one character who doesn’t react poorly to the fact that her baby is
black. Unlike Armand, who completely blows the whole situation out of proportion,
Désirée isn’t the one who has the problem. She is presented with the problem or conflict,
and is not responsible for creating it. Désirée is also defined by her actions and by the
images clustered around her.

Those analogy presented the binary oppositions of the characters in Kate Chopin’s
“Desiree’s Baby”. The two contrast characters that show the binary oppositions clearly.