The application of the hypodescence rule, although not yet enshrined in law, had been a tradition of American racial categorization since the beginning of slavery. In her short story “Désirée's Baby,” Kate Chopin discusses the practice as it was applied in the “one drop rule,” the notion 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 intersection of the two races, highlighting the flaws and inadequacies of the one-drop rule. The progression of the plot, culminating in Désirée's estrangement from white society and her possible death, may indicate a text aimed at criticizing racial prejudice; however, such interpretations become increasingly difficult to maintain in light of Chopin's strongly racist overtones. By placing the prevailing theory of racial attribution under the microscope, "Désirée's Baby" tends to conclude that the one-drop rule is not only flawed by the unfortunate repercussions to which the method leads, but essentially doomed by the absurdity of the concepts on on which she rests. . Although it may seem contradictory, Chopin's conclusion is strengthened by the use of implicitly biased text, a tactic allowing for a closer examination of social mores within a system they were designed to defend. Chopin sets the context for his argument by placing Désirée in an environment where she can turn black easily, but with significant consequences. Despite Désirée's ability to assimilate effortlessly into Southern society, taking on the role of the "beautiful, gentle, affectionate and sincere" Southern belle, the story never loses sight of her "obscure origin" (# ). As a result, Desiree does not have the opportunity to prove herself...... middle of paper ......more absurd if denied in an environment characterized by high racial tensions. If the news is read as an indictment of the one-drop rule despite racism, it may be an attempt by Chopin to end a system where anyone can become black , thus endangering white individuals. However, it is also capable of taking on a more timeless didactic meaning. This reading, rather than a simple critique of the one-drop rule, risks forcing the reader to question the legitimacy of dominant social mores, even those that may seem to correspond to the dominant opinions of the time. Whether racism was used by Chopin ironically or was simply an inevitable attribute of his environment is immaterial; its presence highlights the absurdity of hypodescent categorization, which would extend to support the anti-miscegenation and Jim Crow laws that defined the postwar years.