Racism dates back thousands and thousands of years to the days of cavemen. In the short story “Desiree's Baby,” Kate Chopin shows how discrimination based on skin color can affect people. Désirée was abandoned and raised by Madame Valmonde. Armand, the baby's father, was one of Louisiana's most notable families. He falls in love with Désirée and marries her. After having a baby, their relationship deteriorates quickly. A few months later, Armand realizes that the baby's skin is a darker shade than usual. He accuses Désirée of being black. Armand tells Désirée that he wants her to leave so Désirée takes the baby and "disappears among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks of the deep, slow bayou" (Chopin 91) and never returns. Armand discovers that Désirée is black by reading a letter that his mother sent him and which says “she belongs to the race cursed with the stigma of slavery” (Chopin 92). The ironic ending of the story relates to the setting of the story, the imagery, and Chopin's use of similes. The setting has a major role in the ironic ending because it takes place in the antebellum South where blacks are not treated the same as whites. There are several clues as to where and when the story takes place. First, Armand's last name, Aubigny, was "one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana" (Chopin 89), which tells us that the story takes place in Louisiana. Additionally, Chopin says that Armand owns a plantation and many slaves, which would not have been possible after the Civil War, showing that the story takes place during the antebellum period. The name of Armand's plantation, L'Abri, is also ironic because it means "the refuge" in French, which is ironic to Désirée because it is a bad place for her, not a good place. Chopin explains that “there was something in the air that threatened his peace.” The story wouldn't take place in another time period or place, because if it did, Desiree wouldn't be discriminated against because she was black and therefore wouldn't run into the bayou with the baby. Chopin's use of imagery brings us to the greatest irony of the end of the story as Chopin contrasts black and white skin colors.