Hajar Symbolism

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Lodge’s Symbolism in Kate Chopin’s Desiree’s Baby

He use of symbolism in any literary work is an original way to get a deeper meaning across to the readers. Something said in plain words and meaning may have less impact than when guised under a description or comparison. This way, the readers get a greater feel of the writer’s message. As Lodge explains, literary symbolism allows the writer to evoke an original “plurality, even ambiguity, of meaning” (Lodge, 155). Lodge goes on to state that the symbolism within a work is less denotative and is “characterized by a shimmering surface of suggested meanings” (Lodge, 155). Through these suggestive meanings Lodge talks about, the writer allows for more interpretation by the readers, thus giving the work more depth and making it more relatable.

Desiree’s Baby, is arguably one of Kate Chopin’s most famous works. The Southern Louisiana based story sheds light on racial prejudice and unequal gender roles and discrimination at the time, which Chopin was renowned for doing. Chopin uses symbolism in her work to give a more real and meaningful account of the societal prejudice between women and men. We see this strategic use of symbolism as she starts off her work with Desiree being left beside a stone pillar at the Valmonde estate, and it is love at first sight where Armand Aubigny notices her. One may argue the stone pillar as a symbol for the rigid male dominance that she always finds around her in the patriarchal system of the times. To take the symbolism further, one may think of Aubigny as the substitute for the pillar that came later in Desiree’s life. The symbolism continues throughout the story through the characters. Desiree herself was used as a symbolism for the rising strength of women and gender equality. As Chopin was obeying her husbands orders and leaving with her child, she wore thin white clothing and slippers, which symbolized her femininity within a male dominant society. The sun that hit her as she walked symbolized the hope of the ever growing shifts in equal gender roles and the spotlight on women that is yet to shine through these difficult times.

Works Cited

Lodge, David. The Art of Fiction. Vintage, 2011.