Qureshi 1
Omar Qureshi
Instructor: Vacca
Engl 2308
30 Nov. 2015
Updated: 30 March 2016
Word Count: 3,649
The Other Child
One of the most important structures of society is the family unit- the mother, the father
and the child, or children. Families are responsible for creating and caring for the next
generation, for teaching their offspring values and morals, and are one of the most integral parts
of how a culture thrives and operates. Through the family unit culture is created, strengthened,
shared and passed down from one generation to the next. Family and culture reflect the society
one lives in, and all three are interconnected, and reinforced, by one another. Nowhere was the
importance of the typical family unit more prevalent but, paradoxically, shattered than in the
Southern United States during the era of Chattel Slavery. Southern slave era America was built
on a system of subjugation and African- American disenfranchisement that was reinforced
through the racist, white, paternalistic culture passed on from one generation to the next.
Ironically though, slavery gave rise to a new, highly problematic familial structure between
white slave owners, black slave women and their biracial children who were caught between the
worlds of white privilege and black slavery. In Kate Chopin’s short story, “Désirée’s Baby”, and
Qureshi 2
Langston Hughes’s poem, “Mulatto”, both authors criticize the injustice and hypocrisy of slavery
through their narrative uses of a mixed raced family unit and the effects of racism they suffer.
While both Chopin and Hughes’s works discuss topics of racism, slavery, multiracialism
and family dynamics, the authors wrote their respective pieces of literature in different time
periods. Chopin wrote “Désirée’s Baby” in 1894 and Hughes published “Mulatto” in 1927, but
the effects of slavery and the racist idealism against black people permeated both time periods.
Racial theorists have analyzed how race shapes white and non- white people’ s lives in profound
ways; nowhere was this as evident as during slavery, for it was built off the idea of white racial
supremacy (Latimer). During slavery whiteness, and the proximity of it, was seen as “a location
of structural advantage” for people of color in the uneven power dynamic between white freemen
and black slaves. White mannerisms, such as dress, speech and even physical features, became
not only the norm but “a set of cultural practices [that were] unmarked and unnamed” which
became the default and the ideal (Latimer). This created the distinction between whites above
other races that was used to justify the subjection of African- Americans as slaves. Even after the
fall of slavery, racism against African- Americans and the belief of whiteness over “the other” as
more desirable endured. Chopin and Hughes criticize these ideas through their unique
perspectives of biracial family units. Through the use of biracial characters during slavery
Chopin and Hughes expose how false the separation and prejudices used to demean AfricanAmericans were.
Kate Chopin was a regional fictionist in the late 1800’s, who’s local surroundings of
French, Cajun and Creole culture became the setting for one of Chopin’s most famous short
stories, “Désirée’s Baby” (Bienvenu 136). Chopin’s short story tells about the young protagonist,
Désirée, who was abandoned as a child and was then taken in by the rich Valmondes. Désirée
Qureshi 3
quickly falls in love with the renowned slave master, Armand Aubigny, marries him, bears him a
son and lives contently as the Mistress of the L’Abri Plantation. However, her perfect life
becomes shattered when she realizes her infant son looks partly African- American. Cast aside
by Armand out of shame and grief-stricken at the idea of being part black, Désirée and her baby
disappear into a nearby bayou and are never seen again. In the end it is revealed to the reader that
Armand is actually the one who is half black on his mother’s side. Additionally, it’s left
ambiguous to the reader as to whether or not Armand knew the entire time he was half black, and
whether or not he meant to use Désirée as a scapegoat should his child ever begin to show black
features.
Chopin’s short story discusses slavery and racism through the familial unit. The baby
highlights the importance of the family unit in the patriarchal, American South. One important
example is the pride Désirée exhibits when she glowingly insists to her mother that Armand is
secretly very proud she had a son whom Armand could pass the Aubigny name onto (Chopin
553). This scene is also very indicative of the gender roles of this time period in Slave Era
America as Désirée is happy to be a wife and bearer of children, specifically male children, to
further her husband’s name and lineage. Ironically, the child also represents the hypocrisy of
slavery as the mixed race son becomes a catalyst that drives Armand to reject his wife and child,
driving Désirée to disappear with her child forever (Chopin 553).
Désirée represents the ideal Southern woman, or Southern Belle, that was alluring, silent
and obedient to her husband. This is evident in the way Désirée is described as “beautiful and
gentle… the idol of Valmonde”, the way she “loved [her husband] desperately” despite his
violent mistreatment of the slaves and how she “dared not ask [Armand] to explain” when he
suddenly became distant and cold towards her (Chopin 553). Despite all of her Southern Belle
Qureshi 4
qualities, Désirée commits one of the most heinous crimes a white, Southern woman could do:
giving birth to a child of color. Afterwards, Désirée becomes stripped of her privileges as a white
woman when her husband declares she is not white and tells her to leave L’Abri (Chopin 554).
Her own prejudice was so great that it manifested into intense self-hatred, which triggered
Désirée to disappear “among the reeds and willows… along the bank… of the bayou” with her
child forever, heavily implying that she committed suicide and infanticide (Chopin 555).
Désirée’s choice to “be dead [rather than] than [be] black” in Southern society was Chopin’s way
of showing how disturbing the effect of slavery and racism could be on people, and how the
family unit was torn apart due to it (Petry 168).
Armand Aubigny represents the biracial child who is caught between the world of white
privilege and black oppression, but ironically, is the oppressor of his own wife and mixed- race
child. While Chopin never outright reveals just how long Armand has known about his black
heritage, the reader can infer however, through the burning of his mother’s letter and Désirée and
the baby’s possessions, Armand held deep seated self-hatred of the blackness attached to his
heritage (Byam 555). Armand metaphorically and figuratively cleansed his home of any
evidence of his ties to his Black mother and tries to hide the shame it has brought upon his name;
he chose to stay within the confines of his privilege as a white, slave owning male. In the context
of the time and place of “Désirée’s Baby” Armand knew that as a free man of color, he would
never have the same privileges because free half-black, half-white people weren’t full citizens,
but rather had a sort of “quasi-citizenship” (Petry 165). Free biracial people were never truly
equal to their white counterparts, could never inherit property and “were generally recognized by
law as second class citizens” (Petry 166). Many free people of color during this time period were
considered “inferior” by most citizens due to their African ancestry (Petry 166). Kate Chopin
Qureshi 5
weaves “Désirée’s Baby” with heavy irony to represent how inhumane and hypocritical the
dichotomy of race, slavery and anti-black sentiment are. Armand, a closeted half black slave
master, rejected Désirée, his white wife who thinks she’s part black, and their mixed race child
directly resulting in both of their disappearances; these characters actions are not indicative of
their race but rather are caused by how their race is perceived by those around them. Chopin’s
message is not about how a person’s inherited race dictates one’s character, but rather how
society’s reaction and treatment of those who are of different races truly influences one’s
character (Petry 170).
Langston Hughes was one of the most famous African- American poets in the 1920’s and
30’s during the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes was a champion for black civil rights and
black empowerment through his writings. Additionally, Hughes’s strenuous relationship with his
father created a great conflict within the author that reflects in his literature. One such piece is
Hughes’s visceral poem, “Mulatto” (Hughes 869). “Mulatto” describes the thoughts and actions
of multiple characters as a biracial son of a black woman confronts his white father and demands
he recognize him as his biological son. The son is rejected by his white father and, through
Hughes use of vivid imagery and symbolism, describes the father’s thoughts and actions
regarding the boy and his mother. The father cruelly dismisses his son and describes the woman
he impregnated as little more than a “toy” for his enjoyment (Hughes 874). Immediately
afterwards the voice of the white father’s other children, the biracial son’s white half-siblings,
chime in and refute the biracial son as their brother. The poem repeats the same stanza of the
white father describing his view of the black mother and son, lumping them together as part of
the same “southern night”, she the “black night” and the son a “yellow star” (Hughes 874). The
poem ends with the biracial son repeating, once more, that he is the white man’s son.
Qureshi 6
While Hughes’s “Mulatto” never outright speaks of slavery surrounding the setting of the
poem it can be heavily implied through the language and imagery used within the work. In
“Mulatto” the white father uses harsh and uncouth language when he vehemently denies “like
hell!” he is the biracial son’s father (Hughes 873). Additionally, he goes on to call his son a
“yellow bastard boy”, a harsh insult that highlights the yellow skin tone and lowly birth of the
boy. The father also uses derogatory language when describing the black mother as a “nigger
wench” and a “toy”, and the “blue black” of her “juicy body” pushed “against [a] black fence”
that gives the reader an unsettled mental image of a black slave woman being forced upon by a
white slave master (Hughes 873). Even the very title of “Mulatto” is indicative of the slave
setting as the word mulatto was a derogatory term used during the slave era to refer to someone
with both a white and black parent. The origin of the word comes from the Spanish word for
mule and was used to classify those with partial white and African- American ancestry during
slavery as distinctly black. Combined, the language paints the true picture of a biracial son of a
black slave woman who confronts his white father for paternal recognition, but is, instead,
refuted by a slave master unwilling to take ownership of the illicit actions he had with his slave.
The biracial son in “Mulatto” is the central figure in the poem, as he himself is the
mulatto, who, in the beginning, is adamant for acceptance from his father. Throughout the entire
poem themes of yellow and orange keep repeating, from “yellow stars” to the “Georgia dusk” to
the “turpentine woods” (Hughes 873). Turpentine woods, whose orange-red trees are used to
make turpentine for distilling paint, represents the biracial son’s “distillation” of his blackness
due to his white blood, and his lighter, yellow, complexion as compared to his mother (Hughes
873). All the themes of yellow and orange highlight how the son is neither truly black nor white
and struggles initially to come to terms with his biracialism; he looks towards his family for any
Qureshi 7
kind of recognition to better understand how he fits into the society he lives in but instead
receives rejection. The mixed race child in “Mulatto” represents the fundamental irony of slavery
as biracial children are the physical proof of the hypocrisy of miscegenation during slavery.
Within “Mulatto” the slave mother is never shown or seen, yet the actions done unto her
carry enormous symbolic weight. The mistreatment of the mother was Hughes’s way of further
highlighting the hypocrisy of slavery due to the juxtaposing roles female slaves were forced into.
Miscegenation, or the mixing and intermingling of races, in the slave south was strictly forbidden
between blacks and whites yet it “took place between white slave owning men and black female
slaves” on an unprecedented scale (Peel). One of the most scarring dilemmas black women in
slavery faced was the sexual violence they suffered due to the conflicting perception of the slave
woman as “both the object of the white man’s abhorrence and his fantasy” (Hallam). Slave
women lived in a society of that gave them virtually no autonomy over their own bodies as the
laws of slavery supported a slave masters right to use his slave however he desired, including
sexually, without repercussion (Peel). This culture of exploitation and sexual violence is
resonated within Hughes’s poem as the white slave master thinks of the biracial son’s mother as
unworthy of self-autonomy when, to him, her only worth is as his mistress.
The father in “Mulatto” as the slave master represents the extremely unequal power
balance between blacks and whites and the unwillingness of whites to take responsibility for
their role in black oppression. The relationship between female slaves and male slave masters
was extremely problematic as their relationships were “characterized by an imbalance of power
in race, sex… and class” and made it nearly impossible for a slave woman to truly consent to this
type of relationship (Peel). Additionally, miscegenation made this type of interracial relationship
a social taboo and therefore was never truly discussed about within southern society. Hughes’s
Qureshi 8
poetic language shows this imbalance of power and the fraudulent way white slave masters both
crossed and hid behind this line at their own pleasure. In the second stanza Hughes describes
how “one of the pillars of the temple fell”; the “temple” in this case represents the southern way
of life (Hughes 873). The southern way of life for a slave master and father dictates that he be
strict and emotionally detached to his slaves, be faithful to his wife and be a good provider for
his children, yet the father breaks every one of these norms. A pillar has fallen in the “temple” of
southern norms due to the actions of the father’s affair with the black slave and the rejection of
his son; he has gone against his role as a slave master, a father and a faithful partner. Despite his
rule breaking the father, rather than suffer the consequences of his actions, instead denies he did
anything wrong and is absolved of any wrongdoings. The father’s denial of his biracial son, and
his view of the slave mother as property rather than as an actual human being, highlights the
falseness of the separation of races. Hughes shows how slavery, the separation of races and the
bigoted ideas used to keep them apart was a façade used by those in power to unjustly oppress
African- Americans, as the biracial son is proof of.
The biracial son in “Mulatto” represents a challenge to the system of slavery due the
unequal power dynamic that resulted in his conception (Peel). The biracial child is physical proof
of the slave master’s affair with the slave and represents the clash between the norms of the
racial division of the south versus the more complicated reality. In the son’s struggle for identity
he looks towards his father and his mother as the family unit is a reflection of a society’s values
and culture. Through the father’s rejection the biracial son is denied his white heritage, showing
he will never be accepted by white society. As the poem ends the final lines show how the son is
but one of the “great big yellow stars” that’s part of the vast night of blackness (Hughes 874).
Hughes symbolizes how prevalent the issue of multiracial unions between slaves and slave
Qureshi 9
masters was, and how these biracial children (stars) are part of the black society (the night) to
create a sense of African- American solidarity and unity. This theme of unity and transcendence
above white oppression is shown in “Mulatto” as the biracial “stars” leave and “scatter
everywhere” at the end and the biracial son declares one final time that he is the white man’s
son, asserting his own self independence (Jones). The biracial son has left his father, and even
though his father does not acknowledge him as family the son has come to terms with his
complicated racial identity. Hughes uses the family unit to show, through vivid imagery and
poetic symbolism, the complicated duality of racism and slavery.
In both “Désirée’s Baby” and “Mulatto” many similar themes run parallel between both
works. In the respective stories the slave master is the father of a mixed race child and their
rejection of their sons, and the sons’ mothers, stems from their own anti-black prejudice. The
fathers in both stories are representative of the white supremacist culture they grew up in and
consequently are unable to cope with their juxtaposing roles as both slave masters and fathers to
children who are part black. Through the family unit Chopin and Hughes show how racism
impairs fatherhood and destroys families as paternal rejection in both stories led to missing sons.
The family unit, one of the most important structures of society, is irrevocably broken and leads
to great suffering for the innocent sons. The sons, through no choice of their own, are unfairly
damned by their white peers due to the anti-black society they live in and must endure life
without paternal guidance or a normal familial unit, all while living within the confines of black
racism. Chopin and Hughes wrote their respective short story and poem to reveal the hypocrisy
of slavery and miscegenation. As white masters took advantage of oppressed AfricanAmericans, blackness transcended physical appearance and manifested into absurd notions of
racial division based on the miniscule presence of black ancestry. So great was the dichotomy of
Qureshi 10
separating races it tore apart families and refused to acknowledge the reality that the
miscegenation between blackness and whiteness was simply a social construct that was
constantly being blurred.
While Chopin and Hughes have many similarities between their works, “Désirée’s Baby”
and “Mulatto” differ in very important aspects. Chopin writes Désirée as a tragic victim of her
own prejudice within the racist confines of her world. She is unable to handle the thought of
herself being part black so much that she disappears with her child. Additionally, Armand’s
inability to come to terms with his biracial heritage, and the coldness he treats his family,
“invites readers to pity the suffering caused by [the] inequalities of power” but does not actively
challenge the reader to wonder how these inequalities can be overcome (Peel). “Mulatto” on the
other hand differs from “Désirée’s Baby” in that it is a celebration and assertion of “black worth,
history, and beauty” in the face of white supremacy (Jones). Although the child in “Mulatto” was
rejected by his white father he doesn’t let this despair him. By the end of the poem the biracial
son has accepted the fact that he will never be accepted by his white peers, but moves past this
by the end. Chopin’s short story ends on a bleak note, and the characters actions do not
challenge or show themes of a better future for the victims oppressed by Southern slave culture.
Hughes’s poem on the other hand gives the reader a sense of hope for a brighter future through
the anger and defiance of the oppressed against the oppressor. By challenging and escaping
white oppression Hughes gives hope for a brighter future for the biracial son and other AfricanAmericans as well.
“Désirée’s Baby” and “Mulatto” use the themes of racism and multiracial family units,
through language, imagery, characterization and setting, to highlight the cruelty of slavery.
Chopin and Hughes use these themes within their respective stories to discuss how the
Qureshi 11
distinction between whites and blacks during slavery was a hypocritical social construct that left
a lasting impact on the American South. These works are an important part of the American
literary cannon because they give background and history to important social issues relevant in
the modern day. The issues within “Désirée’s Baby” and “Mulatto” are intrinsically linked to
many social problems, such as negative stereotypes, poverty and inequality, that still affect
African-Americans to this day.
Qureshi 12
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. "Désirée’s Baby." The Norton Anthology American Literature. Eds. Nina Baym
and Robert S. Levine. Vol. C: 1865-1914. 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton &
Company, 2012. 551-555. Print. 3 vols.
Hallam, Jennifer. "Slavery and the Making of America, The Slave Experience: Men, Women,
and Gender." PBS. PBS, 2004. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Hughes, Langston. "Mulatto." The Norton Anthology American Literature. Eds. Nina Baym
and Robert S. Levine. Vol. D: 1914-1945. 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton &
Company, 2012.873-874. Print. 3 vols.
Jones, Ginger. "Mulatto." Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition (2002): 1-3. Literary
Reference Center. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Latimer, Heather. "Hybridity And Whiteness In Claudine C. O'heam's Half And Half: Writings
On Growing Up Biracial And Bicultural."Clcweb: Comparative Literature & Culture: A
Wwweb Journal 7.3 (2005): 28-34. Literary Reference Center. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Peel, Ellen. "Semiotic Subversion In 'Désirée's Baby.'." American Literature 62.2 (1990):
223. Literary Reference Center. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Petry, Alice Hall. "Armand Aubigny, Still Passing After All These Years: The Narrative Voice
and Historical Context of "Désirée's Baby"" Critical Essays on Kate Chopin. New York:
G.K. Hall, 1996. 161-75. Print.