Enforcement of the hypodescent rule, although not yet written into law, had been a tradition in American racial categorization since the beginning of slavery. In her short story “Désirée's Baby,” Kate Chopin addresses the practice as it was applied in the “one drop rule,” the idea that an individual with a white complexion can be considered black by society given the presence of African ancestry. Chopin eloquently places Désirée, the story's protagonist, at the crossroads between the two races, highlighting the flaws and inadequacies of the one-fall rule. The progression of the plot, culminating in Désirée's estrangement from white society and possible death, may indicate a text that works to critique racial prejudice; however, such interpretations become increasingly difficult to maintain in light of Chopin's highly racist undertones. By placing the dominant theory of racial assignment under the microscope, “Désirée's Baby” leads to the conclusion that the one-drop rule is not only tainted by the unfortunate repercussions to which the method leads, but is essentially doomed by the absurdity of the concepts on which it is based. . While it may seem contradictory, Chopin's conclusion is strengthened by the use of an implicitly biased text, a tactic that allows for further examination of social mores within a system they were designed to uphold. Chopin sets the context for his argument by placing Désirée in an environment where she can be made black easily, but with significant consequences. Despite Désirée's ability to effortlessly integrate into Southern society, taking on the role of the “beautiful, kind, affectionate and sincere” Southern belle, the story never loses sight of her “dark origin” (#). As a result, Désirée is not given the chance to prove what paper is...more absurd if proven wrong in an environment characterized by heavy racial tensions. If the tale is read as an indictment of the one-drop rule despite racism, it may be Chopin's attempt to stop a system in which anyone can be made black, putting white individuals at risk. But it is also capable of taking on a more timeless, didactic meaning. The reading, rather than a criticism purely of the one-drop rule, forces the reader to question the legitimacy of prevailing social mores, even those that may appear to correspond to the dominant opinions of the time. Whether racism was used by Chopin ironically or was simply an unavoidable attribute of his environment is irrelevant; its presence highlights the absurdity of a hypodescent categorization, which would expand to support the anti-miscegenation and Jim Crow laws that defined the postwar years.