The presentation of social status in Desiree’s Baby and The Necklace

‘Desiree’s Baby’ was written by Kate Chopin and it is set in the American southern states in the late 19th century when it was written. Chopin lived in Louisiana which had many rich, white plantation owners. Chopin’s stories were controversial because she was white and it was unheard of for people to write about such topics as the one covered in ‘Desiree’s Baby’. The author of ‘The Necklace’ was written by Guy de Maupassant and he also lived in the late 19th century but he lived in Paris.

Most of his stories were set in France, but to be more specific, most of his stories were set in and around the capital, Paris. Both stories show different aspects of social status and what effect it has on people and their aspirations for higher status. ‘Desiree’s Baby’ is set in Louisiana which is a southern state of America. Where society is portrayed as racist which meant that the rich, white plantation owners thought that the black slaves were inferior. The slaves are all black there are no white slaves; the slaves are treated like animals; to have a black heritage was like carrying a disease.

When Armand finds out that his child is black he cannot bear to even think that he is related to a race that is branded with slavery; he says, “the child is not white, it means you are not white”, to his wife, he does not want to even think he is descended from slaves. The white people were wealthy and owned houses and plantations and each family was very proud of its heritage and reputation, “one of the oldest and proudest names in Louisiana”, is what Armand thinks of his family name.

This meant that the Aubignys would be known throughout and maybe beyond Louisiana because they had a significant amount of wealth and status. So the fact that Armand’s baby was black would have been even more damaging towards his family name because it was a name with a long and noble history. The story is set in the household of characters that have high status in society. The reader knows this because Armand owns a plantation with “a roof that came down steep and black like a cowl, reaching out beyond the wide galleries that encircled the yellow stuccoed house.

Also the fact that Armand can afford to buy Desiree a “corbeille” even though he had only seen Desiree not long before suggests that even if the marriage had not worked Armand would have still been rich enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life until another prospective wife came along. ‘The Necklace’ is also set in the late 19th century but the location is Paris. In 19th century Paris there is a massive difference between working class men like Madame Loisel’s husband and the people who have a higher status such as the Minister of Education who is Monsieur Loisel’s boss and he is the one who invites the Loisels to the reception.

There is a lot of evidence in the text about the gap between the rich and the poor and how it affects the way people live their lives. ‘The Necklace’ shows that women cannot live on their own as they can now but that they must depend on men such as their fathers or their husbands. The story is set in a household of low status working class people unlike ‘Desiree’s Baby’ which is set in the household of people who have slaves to do what whatever they want. Both stories show a character’s desire for or the way they act towards people with higher or lower status than themselves.

Social status is an extremely important fact to both stories for example; Armand is very proud his name because he calls his family name, “one of the oldest and proudest names in Louisiana”. Yet before the baby was born Armand was cruel to his slaves and he used his social status to his advantage; “Young Aubigny’s rule was a strict one. ” Yet after the baby was born Armand started to be nice to his slaves because when a slave pretended to have burnt his leg so that he could get off work Armand said, “Negrillon was a great scamp”. The arrival of the baby changed Armand completely.

Yet when Armand finds out the baby is black he; rejects the baby; “the child is not white, it means you are not white”, is what he says to his wife and he also says to his wife, “Yes I want you to go”. He cannot bear to be in the same house or room even as his wife and the baby, he thinks being related to slaves is like a disease and that if they are in the same house as him, he might catch it. In ‘The Necklace’ however Madame Loisel is very embarrassed that she does not have any suitable clothes to wear at the reception because on page 14 the text reads, “There’s nothing so humiliating as to look poor when you are with women who are rich.

Madame Loisel is from a family of low status she had, “no dowry, no expectations, no means of meeting some rich, important man who would understand, love and marry her. ” The repeated negatives reinforce the fact that Madame Loisel has a really low status. Also the really long list of what she aspires to have such as “silent antechambers hung with oriental tapestries, lit by tall, bronze candelabras”, is a contrast with what she already has, “rundown apartment they lived in, the peeling walls, the battered chairs and the ugly curtains.

Also when she marries a lowly junior clerk, the text says that she just “went along with a proposal made by a junior clerk”, this is not the best grounds for marriage, it just reinforces the fact that Madame Loisel aspires for higher status and a better way of life. Another piece of evidence which shows that Madame Loisel yearns for higher status is where on page 13 the text says, “she had no fine dresses, no jewellery, nothing”.

Some evidence that Monsieur Loisel doesn’t really care about how high up the social ladder he is is where the text says, “Ah stew splendid” even though he has probably had it for dinner for the last week and where he says to his wife, “You aren’t half silly”, when she says she won’t fit in at the party. Also when Madame Loisel says she needs jewellery he just says, “Just wear a posy. ” Having social status or lacking social status has an effect on how characters act in the stories. For example when Armand finds out his baby is black he automatically assumes that it is Desiree’s fault.

She asks if she should leave the house and he says, “Yes I want you to go”. He is way too proud to consider that his family is descended from a supposedly inferior race. This in turn caused him to lose his wife and child and a small fortune on what he spent on the wedding and child. Even Armand’s parents were too ashamed to tell Armand that his family was descended from the race that was branded with slavery. They did this because they knew how damaging it would be to Armand, his family and his reputation if people knew what he was descended from.

The letter from his mother to his father reinforces the fact that they thought being related to slaves would be detrimental to him because his mother writes, “I thank the good God that Armand will never know that his mother belonged to the race branded with slavery. ” This also shows how much his mother loved him because what Armand didn’t know couldn’t hurt him, but when he did find out it hurt a lot more than it should have. In ‘The Necklace’ Madame Loisel is absolutely delighted that she fits in, the text says, “She was the prettiest woman there, elegant, graceful, radiant and wonderfully happy.

She is ecstatic that she fits in with the rich and famous even if it is for only one night. Also the Loisels are too proud just tell Madame Forestier the truth and therefore instead just being a normal working class couple they end up being the lowest of the low. They end up a lot worse off than they were before. Each story has a different message and/or moral for example ‘Desiree’s Baby’ shows that social status matters very much on race and what part of the social hierarchy you are born into, but you can marry into higher or lower classes.

Whereas ‘The Necklace’ shows that social status matters very much on your job and on the people you know. Both show that social ambition can damage you if you don’t be honest or if you make assumptions. Also both stories which are classed as ‘short stories’ end with and ironic twist which is typical for short stories, for example in ‘The Necklace’ it turns out that the necklace was not worth thirty six thousand francs but it was only worth five hundred francs and so the Loisels went through all of that hardship for a cheap imitation necklace.

However in ‘Desiree’s Baby’ Armand had blamed Desiree for the colour of the baby’s skin when it was really his side of the family that had caused the baby to be black. In conclusion I believe that both stories show social status was important in 19th century societies, but both offer different perspectives of social status. One story shows that you can have status and then lose it, whereas another story shows that you don’t have to have status but you can aspire for it.