Throughout time, humans have struggled with issues of conformity and individuality. In the modern world, individuality is idealized, as it is associated with strength. Weak individuals are usually described as conforming to society and having almost no personal ideas. In the short story “Desiree's Child,” author Kate Chopin recounts the struggles of African descendants in the French colonies during the period of slave labor. The protagonist is a white woman named Desiree of unknown origin and birth as she was found abandoned as an infant on the doorstep of an aristocrat's house. Eighteen years after her discovery, she and a fellow aristocrat, Armand Aubigny, fall in love and marry. They soon have a son, but conflict arises when it is discovered that the child is black. The young family is destroyed when the child's father, Armand, refuses to accept him. In “Desiree's Child,” Chopin demonstrates through Armand's conflicts how weak humans conform to environmental norms. Armand proves to be a weak character due to his own internal conflict. Armand's weakness is initially demonstrated by the way he treats his slaves. Although there is evidence to support that Armand is a characteristic man of the era, it appears that he actually has benevolent feelings towards slaves. However, he is too weak to express these feelings and instead acts rather rigidly: “Young Aubigny's rule was also severe, and under it his negroes had forgotten how to be gay, as they had been during the easy time of the old master. -an active and indulgent life” (Chopin 9). In addition to his internal conflict regarding the treatment of slaves, this quote tells the reader a lot about Armand's overall weakness as an individual. In addition to the fact that his strength is str... middle of the card... the theme that weak individuals succumb to social norms regardless of their feelings. Armand is shown to be a weak character, but there are signs that some of his beliefs are progressive. However, due to the weakness of his personality, Armand is unable to express these beliefs. Rather, he is forced to destroy something of great importance to himself simply because he is too weak to defend his beliefs. Through the ironic ending in which Armand discovers that he is the donor of the black gene, Chopin teaches the danger of being a weak individual: Armand is punished for his weakness by Desiree, a woman he once loved, who leaves despite enduring the awareness of belonging to a race that he himself hates. Chopin challenges all human beings to fight for individuality and self-esteem, so as not to fall victim to their own weaknesses.