He drops the letter, and turns around to look out towards the field. He looks around at where he stands, feeling dizzy and unsure of who he is. His blood begins to boil as he realizes the lie that he has been living, and the truth that he was kept from. He realizes the hypocrisy that he and those around him have lived, and how wrong he was. He turns around and calls out:
“Desiree!’ “Desiree”
But she was long gone, and she didn’t come back. Armand dropped to his knees and looked up at the sky as if he could see through the tears that fell as he did. He knew the truth and couldn’t avoid the sinking feeling of misery, the same pain that Desiree had felt. He wished that he would’ve known the truth earlier, so he could’ve righted his wrong before it was to late, and it was. He grabs the letter, and leaves, freeing the slaves, and freeing himself from the lies that he lived under.
Rationale:
“And the very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take hold of him in his dealings with the slaves” (Chopin 4).
Armand’s treatment of his slaves was cruel, and once he discovered the truth about his own family, i think that he would’ve become engulfed in shame, hypocrisy and guilt. He can no longer justify his actions because once he realizes that his wife and children belong to the same race that he treats horribly, and that even him himself belongs to the same race. Everything that he once knew was shattered in that one moment, and everything after changes.
I love your ending. It’s well thought through! I love how you made him free the slaves, just like he freed himself by leaving.