In antebellum Louisiana, racial roles were clearly defined and strictly enforced. Whites were considered owners, masters, and first-class citizens, while blacks were slaves; seen more as objects than humans. It is against this backdrop that the drama of Kate Chopin's "Desiree's Baby" takes place. Yet the story does not support these racial roles but seeks to show the arbitrary nature of them. Through this story, Chopin reveals that the carefully maintained separateness of the races reveal the white man fear of becoming like the black man.
Critics are divided about whether Armand knew of his mixed racial heritage throughout the story. One's opinion on this matter makes a huge difference in how the text challenges racial roles. I believe that Armand knew of his racial heritage all along, thus challenging traditional racial roles of this time period. If the readers of "Desiree's Baby conduct a careful reading of the text, they will find an abundance of clues that point to the fact that Armand knew of his racial heritage all along. Yet in order to see the story this way, we must view the narrator as the community, making the narrator unreliable.
Many areas of the text that once seemed foggy clear up in view of the fact that Armand knew. For instance, Armand suddenly falls in love with Desiree after knowing her for many years and willingly accepts that he has no knowledge of her background. Also, his mother hides in France until her death from the time Armand was eight, but at eight he should remember his mother. Also, he treats the slaves horribly as if to prove he was white. Finally, there is the issue of the letter. I believe he has read this letter before because it was kept with letters of Desiree's courtship and the absence of a reaction to the letter.
As a man of mixed racial heritage he undermines racial roles in several ways. He owns his own plantation and slaves. He has been accepted into the white aristocracy of the south.
