Question

How does Désirée first learn that her baby is not completely white?

1) Désirée compares her baby with the mixed-race son of her maid.
2) La Blanche accidentally tells her while she is changing the baby's diaper.
3) Armand tells her point-blank that neither she nor her baby is white.
4) Madame Valmondé tells her when she first sees the baby.

Answer 1

In Kate Chopin’s ‘Desiree’s Baby,’ Désirée first learns about her baby not being completely white when she compares her child with the mixed-race son of her maid, leading to option 1) being the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the story Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin, Désirée first learns that her baby is not completely white when Madame Valmondé, Désirée’s adoptive mother, notices something strange about the baby during her visit, which triggers Désirée to compare her child with the mixed-race son of her maid, Zandrine. The observation unsettles Désirée and eventually leads to a confrontation with her husband, Armand, who accuses her of being part black. Although Chopin's writing did not explicitly detail this comparison, it is understood through the context and suggestions in the text. Therefore, the correct option is 1) Désirée compares her baby with the mixed-race son of her maid. Kate Chopin's works often dealt with themes like racism, identity, and societal norms, contributing significantly to discussions on race and gender which were novel at the time.