Desiree's Baby

Madame Valmonde is shocked... when she visits Desiree in her new home and sees Desiree's child, she never removes her eyes from it. She claims that this baby is not Desiree's baby. In fact, she scans the baby narrowly and does so in the light of the window. Then the Madame looks searchingly at Zandrine, the nurse who is caring for Desiree as she recovers from her pregnancy. These moments of tension and uncertainty give some hint to the reader that the conflict surrounds the race of the baby, and this issue - which Desiree dismisses rather easily - may create problems for Desiree later on.