How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Page)
Quote #1
I tried to stuff myself and keep quiet, pretending that I couldn't even see them. My mother now had two lives: Marc belonged to her present life, I was a living memory from the past. (8.56)
This understanding—that Sophie not only belongs to the past, but has a face that reminds Martine of the most terrifying time in her life—leads to a lot of suffering on Sophie's part. We get a hint here of the eating disorder that will become a much larger issue in her adult life.
Quote #2
"People who have been away from Haiti fewer years than you, they return and pretend they speak no Creole." "Perhaps they can't." "Is it so easy to forget?" "Some people need to forget," he said. "I need to remember." (13.94)
Sophie tells her driver in Haiti why she's really there: she needs to go back to her roots and remember who she was before immigrating to New York. But the exchange with the cabbie reveals the diverse experiences of immigrants who inevitably have to deal with their pasts/origins: sometimes, forgetting is the preferred way.
Quote #3
The story goes that there was once an extremely rich man who married a poor black girl. He had chosen her out of hundreds of prettier girls because she was untouched. For the wedding night, he bought her the whitest sheets and nightgowns he could possibly find. For himself, he bought a can of thick goat milk in which he planned to sprinkle a drop of her hymen blood to drink. (23.154)
The stories told by Ifé and Atie create core memories for Sophie—sometimes to her disadvantage. This particular gem emphasizes the obsession with female purity in Haitian culture. For Sophie, it means that a woman's life is worth little in its own right. Her value really depends solely on sexual "cleanness." She can't forget these lessons even as she moves into her life with her husband.