The last
line reflects not only the short story's racial themes, but also the theme of a mother's love
and how that love can instinctively affect the decisions you make later on in life.
The racial themes are apparent first in the characters need to hide any kind of
evidence that they have black blood. Even if people in the south knew you had a distant relative
who was black they would still view you as inferior to the white race.
This
is the reason the author suggests people didn't take to the beautiful Desiree. People didn't
know her origins. The Valmondes found her as a baby and although they did their best to quash
the rumours, people didn't trust that she was pure white.
It is therefore
interesting that Armand is not only bowled over by her, but doesn't care about her origins. As
the author states, he was reminded that she was nameless. What did it matter about a name when
he could give her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana? Rather than go by his thoughts he
does what the author says all his family did and goes by his instincts.
The
origins of his own instincts come clear at the end when the author tells the reader that his
mother had Negro blood. In that regard, he is attracted to Desiree because like him she has a
past that may or may not be acceptable to their people. Like his mother, he feels that she would
love him no matter what.
Unfortunately for Armand, he is the one who can't
accept that he has Negro blood. Whether he means to or not he uses Desiree and her unknown past
as a way to keep his standing in society. It seems that the fear of being found that you have
black blood is greater than the fear of spending the rest of your life
alone.
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