Vocabulary Preview
Match each word or phrase with the correct definition.
1. blow
a. a room devoted
to reading and studying
2. bonfire
b. a forcible stroke to the body
3. curse
c. a large fire built outside
4. remnant
d. an unusual public display
5. spectacle
e. a small remaining part
6. study
f. to bring great evil upon
Pre-Reading Questions
Think about the following questions.
1. Do you know anyone who has a multiracial background?
2. In the past, how were multiracial people treated by society?
3. How are multiracial people treated by society today?
Desiree’s Baby
by
Kate Chopin
L a n g u a g e & L i t e r a t u re 2
U N
I
T
7
84
Desiree’s Baby
by Kate Chopin
5
10
15
20
25
D
esiree sat in her room, one hot afternoon. The baby lay asleep upon
her own great mahogany bed. One of
La Blanche’s little
quadroon
boys stood fanning the child. Desiree’s eyes
had been fixed absently
and sadly upon the baby. She looked from her child to the boy who stood beside
him and back again “Ah!” The blood turned like ice in her
veins, and a
clammy
moisture gathered upon her face. She stayed motionless, with her gaze riveted
upon her child and her face the picture of fright.
Presently, her husband entered
the room and without
noticing her, went to a table and began to search among some
papers. “Armand,” she called to him. But he did not notice.
“Armand,” she said again. Then she rose and
tottered
toward him. “Armand,” she panted once more, clutching his
arm, “look at our child. What does it mean? Tell me.”
“It means,”
he answered lightly, “that the child is not
white; it means that you are not white.”
When she could hold a pen in her hand, she sent a despairing letter to
Madame Valmonde.
“
My mother, they tell me I am not white. For God’s sake, tell them it is not
true. I will die. I must die. I cannot be so unhappy and live.”
The answer that came was brief:
“
My own Desiree: Come home to Valmonde, back to your mother who
loves you. Come with your child.”
When the letter reached Desiree, she went with it to her husband’s study,
and laid it open upon the desk before which he sat.
He said nothing. “Shall I go, Armand?” she asked in tones sharp with
agonized suspense.
2
La Blanche --- the
name of the head slave
2
quadroon --- a person with one-quarter black ancestry
5
vein --- a vessel that carries blood toward the heart
5
clammy --- damp, sticky, and cool
11
totter
--- to walk unsteadily
