Desiree's Baby

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Consider the antebellum period in the American South. In these decades leading up to the Civil War, the South’s rural, crop-based economy depended on the labor of enslaved people. What was the social stratification in this region and time period? How did factors such as race, gender, and ancestry factor into one’s social status during this time? Did this social stratification change in the postbellum period? Why or why not?

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer question invites students to consider the story’s themes of The Unnatural And Irreconcilable Rules Of Race and The Cruelty of Slavery within the setting of the antebellum period. In the decades prior to the Civil War, also referred to as the “antebellum” (Latin for “before the war”) period, factors including one’s gender, race, and wealth as it related to land ownership were important components in the treatment and social status of those living in the south. Although both President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the subsequent end of the Civil War in 1865 formally ended slavery, many African Americans continued to experience racial prejudice as social systems sought to exclude non-white people from the social milieu. African American women were further excluded from the social strata, as their gender and race led to a form of “double oppression” from society.

• Thecollector.com describes the identity of the Old South and its dependence on cheap or enslaved labor.  
• Women and the American Story explores the role of women in debates regarding slavery in the antebellum period.

2. Reflect on the term “double oppression.” In which ways are certain social groups compounded by increased marginalization based on their identities? Consider gender, race, sexual orientation, and other communities in your answer. 

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer question invites students to consider the double oppression that ethnicity and gender could produce, particularly as it relates to The Unnatural and Irreconcilable Rules of Race. On the surface, Chopin’s story centers on the race of a baby boy; however, the assumptions about and treatment of Désirée after the discovery of her baby’s race points to this double oppression for women assumed to be a part of, or associated with, African American communities. Although the end of Chopin’s story alludes to the fact that Armand, not Désirée, is most likely African American, the woman is both blamed and shamed for the possibility of Black heritage. Furthermore, the last scene of Chopin’s story reveals that Armand’s mother anticipated possible difficulties that African heritage would pose for her descendants, which led her to create circumstances that would allow him to “pass” as white.

• UShistoryscene.com discusses the intersection of “Gender and Race in the Antebellum Slavery Debates.”
• Howard-Hamilton’s 2003 “Theoretical Frameworks for African American Women” explores the concept of double oppression, particularly in relation to obtaining higher education.

Short Activity

Kate Chopin’s story can be considered a part of the “Southern Gothic” genre. Working in small groups, research this genre and select one representative short story to both summarize and analyze in a presentation to your class. If applicable, include images and/or video adaptations as a part of your presentation. Consider the similarity of elements within this genre of work among your classmates’ selections.

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Activity invites students to explore elements of Southern Gothic literature in Chopin’s setting, plot, and characterization. The second Recommended Read, Flannery O’Connor’s “Parker’s Back,” is another example of a woman writer who employs Southern Gothic techniques.

• Bjerre’s (2017) article explores the history as well as notable figures of the Southern Gothic genre, including its female writers.
• The Kate Chopin International Society provides a plethora of information regarding Chopin’s background and her success as a writer at the turn of the 20th century.

Differentiation Suggestion: For an extended research and presentation exercise, this Short Activity may be amended to include the following question: Research the background of the author whose short story you have chosen. What was the author’s interest in the Southern Gothic genre? Why were this person’s pieces considered to be a part of this field of literature?

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

According to the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, the term “passing” “implies that a person of Black or African descent who crossed or passed through a racial line or boundary had trespassed to assume a new racial identity.” Reflect on this term in the context of power structures that support racism. Based on your own knowledge as well as the resource below, do people still try to “pass” in contemporary society?

Teaching Suggestion: This Personal Connection Prompt invites students to reflect on the concept of “passing” in relation to their understanding of history in the US. Although Chopin does not use this term in her story, she points to the unspoken preference for lighter skin through individuals “passing” as non-African. This Prompt segues directly to the Discussion/Analysis Prompt.

• Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity discusses “Passing and the Costs and Benefits of Appropriating Blackness.”

Differentiation Suggestion: For extended reflection, the following question may be added to the above Prompt: Consider a piece of literature and/or piece of media in which the character attempts to “pass” in order to fit within certain social standards. Is this character successful? What might be the message that the author meant with this choice of plot?