Character Clues

Character Analysis

Family Life

Maybe the one thing that characterizes Danticat's drama most strongly is the sense of family duty. For the women in this work, how they behave—from their sexual choices to their pursuit of education and career—has everything to do with the honor of their families.

Sometimes, concern with family honor can be less than compelling for the characters. Atie ultimately learns that her well-developed sense of duty has gotten her nowhere in life, and that she's faced with a lonely and purposeless future. Martine's concern over honor leads her to abuse her only child, who then has to break away in order to move forward with her own life.

Food

Danticat's interested in how two cultures intersect—and what better way to examine culture than through food? Sophie makes observations about the traditional food she ate in Haiti (cassava, beans, potatoes, rice) and the food she eats as an adult in America ("quick" foods, vaguely global, things that take little personal investment).

We're also focused on food because Sophie develops an eating disorder. Her guilt over leaving her mother and the self-hatred she feels because of the virginity tests seem to combine in the bulimia that makes it impossible for her participate in this part of her cultural heritage without major angst.