Desiree's Baby

“Désirée’s Baby” is a short story by Kate Chopin, first published under the title “The Father of Désirée's Baby,” in Vogue on January 14, 1893. It later appeared in Chopin’s 1894 short story collection Bayou Folk. The story takes place in Louisiana in the antebellum, or pre-Civil War, period. Its characters are Creole—descendants of colonists who lived in Louisiana during its periods of French and Spanish rule, who typically spoke French and practiced Catholicism. Chopin, herself, was Creole and is known for her work that centered women in late 19th-century Southern American society.

Told in third-person point-of-view, “Désirée’s Baby” opens with Madame Valmondé driving to visit her daughter, Désirée, and her new grandchild, whom she hasn’t seen in four weeks. Désirée was discovered as a toddler by the gates of the Valmondé estate, perhaps left behind by a band of travelers. Madame Valmondé believes that God sent her Désirée, since she could not have children of her own.

It was at those same gates that Désirée, as an 18-year-old, attracted the attention of Armand Aubigny. He fell in love with her instantly, as is the habit of the men in his family.