Gender Roles in Chopins Desirees Baby and A Point at Issue

Gender Roles in Chopins Desirees Baby and A Point at Issue Many female writers write about womens struggle for equality and how they are looked upon as inferior. Kate Chopin exhibits her views about women in her stories. The relationship between men and women in Kate Chopins stories imply the attitudes that men and women portray. In many of Chopins works, the idea that womens actions are driven by the men in the story reveals that men are oppressive and dominant and women are vulnerable, gullable and sensitive. Chopin also shows that females, like Desiree and Eleanor, undergo a transformation from dependent and weak to stronger women free from their husbands by the end of the story. In the short story Desirees Baby, Kate†¦show more content†¦(176). It becomes apparent that Armand?s actions and words greatly affect Desiree when she says, ?My mother, they tell me I am not white? (176). Desiree?s powerless situation can in many ways be blamed for her unresolved uncertainty about her racial identity. Desiree?s words show that her life depends on the race, notions, and social class of her husband and consequently, she feels obligated to obey his every desire. Desiree is presented as vulnerable to whatever Armand wants and tells her to do when she says, ?Do you want me to go (177). Desiree displays through her actions that in many ways, her happiness only comes from pleasing her husband. Therefore, Desiree must decide whether to live completely separate from Armand, or to live with him in constant fear and unpleasantness. Desiree achieves personal freedom and independence from Armand when ?she disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thing along the banks of the deep, sluggish bayou; she did not come back again? (177). It is not even an option and is unheard of that Armand, being a male holding a respectable background, could possibly be black. Consequently, Desiree feels compelled to leave because she wants to please him. When Desiree decides to kill herself and her child , she shows that she is sensitive and vulnerable to her husband?s thoughts and actions. In ?A Point at Issue,? Charles? actions cause many of the central issues and they also reflect on Eleanor throughout the story.Show MoreRelatedAn Analysis Of Kate Chopin s Desiree s Baby 1705 Words   |  7 Pagespublished in 1893, Kate Chopin’s work â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† is a short story about miscegenation within a French family living in Louisiana in the late nineteenth century. Miscegenation is defined as the mixture of different racial groups, through marriage or cohabitation, between a white race and a member of another race. Chopin writes this piece of realistic fiction which exposes the issues of society that would not be faced until many years after her death. â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† revolves around two mainRead MoreRace And Gender Roles : The Women On The Porch As Southern Gothic Literature893 Words   |  4 PagesRace and gender roles were an ever present issue in the Southern culture and dynamic. After the Civil War, dramatic changes be gan to take place in the South. Political leaders began to enact Civil Rights amendments, industrialization became more popular, and gender roles were beginning to be indistinct. In Southern literature, the portrayal of female characters evolved along side with the Southern culture. Female characters became more independent, strong-willed, and hardworking. Even African Americans