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Fine clothes
The plantation house that belongs to the Aubigny family exhibits physical characteristics that symbolize the unhappiness that has occurred and will occur in the home. Madame Valmondé notices the house’s somber appearance when she goes to visit Désirée. The house has a Gothic feel, with shadows cast by trees and a low roof. These physical indications of darkness and concealment symbolize the acts of darkness and concealment that have taken place in the home: Madame Aubigny has concealed the truth of her identity from her son and the world, and the wealth of the family has been built on the labor and enslavement of others. Armand’s cruel treatment of his slaves has occurred on this estate, and he will turn this cruelty on Désirée during the story, leading to her despair and death. The house’s appearance echoes the acts of physical and emotional cruelty that it conceals.
L’Abri Quotes in Désirée’s Baby
The Désirée’s Baby quotes below all refer to the symbol of L’Abri. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Désirée’s Baby
Quotes
When she reached L’Abri she shuddered at the first sight of it, as she always did. It was a sad looking place….The roof came down steep and black like a cowl, reaching out beyond the wide galleries that encircled the yellow stuccoed house. Big, solemn oaks grew close to it, and their thick-leaved, far-reaching branches shadowed it like a pall.
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Get the entire Désirée’s Baby LitChart as a printable PDF.
L’Abri Symbol Timeline in Désirée’s Baby
The timeline below shows where the symbol L’Abri appears in Désirée’s Baby. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Désirée’s Baby
...Valmondé has not seen her daughter or her baby in a month. She arrives at L’Abri and shivers, as she always does, at the shadowed appearance of the house. The house...
(full context)
A few weeks later, a large bonfire is built in the backyard of L’Abri. Armand sits in the back hallway and gives instructions to a dozen slaves who tend...
(full context)
