Kate Chopin, confirms the importance of racial identity in “Desiree’s Baby” through Armand Aubigny’s sense of pride, Desiree’s devastation upon knowing her ethnicity and Armand Aubigny’s superficial love for Desiree. Throughout this story, Armand Aubigny is portrayed as a character who is a wealthy, respected man in society with a great amount of pride because of his family name which he believed was, “...one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana” (Chopin 1). Aubigny carries great power over the slaves at his late father’s plantation due to his racial status and family name. He carried great pride in his family name which answers why he felt like he had to protect the family name and history at any cost even if it meant shunning his own wife and child. Any family association with blacks would reduce Aubigny to a level a shame that he could not afford to attach to the Aubigny name. His willingness to give up his wife and child show that racial identity is important for one’s status in their society. Armand's established name gave his life meaning and direction, but his child’s connection taints his noble name to one of as little significance as his slaves. Being white guarantees respect while being of African ancestry holds a stigma of shame and unworthiness. Aubigny did not want to tarnish his picture perfect family image so, he felt like “…he no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name” (Chopin 4). The “unconscious injury” Armand Aubigny refers to is the lost memory he feels his wife has lost because of her revealed ethnicity. Finally, Aubigny felt that his pride was hurt because of the shame his wife has brought to the family name of Aubigny proving the importance of race since it eventually tore the family apart. Along with Armand’s dignity, Desiree’s reaction to the reveal of her ethnicity emphasizes the pervasive nature of race in the story. When Desiree comes to the conclusion that she is black...