In Désiréé’s Baby, Kate Chopin sought to bring to light the subliminal and blatant racism that was still in place over 20 years after the slave trade was abolished.
The themes explored in the book include racism (as seen in Armand’s oppressive lordship of his captives and Désiréé), gender and hypocrisy (Armand’s behavior towards their baby when he claims that Désiréé’s unknown heritage was the only reason they had a black baby), etc.
The ideas of race and racial supremacy that had been entrenched in society at the time were exemplified in the marriage and parenthood of the main characters.