Breath, Eyes, Memory Themes

Sophie prides herself on the strength of the women in her family. They endure the most difficult human trials: violence/violation, abandonment, poverty, mental illness. They don't always survive gr...

In many ways, Danticat's novel becomes an ode to suffering. It's the foundation of Sophie's existence and seems to be the only remaining part of Martine's character. Every character is touched by e...

Danticat highlights the importance of storytelling in Haitian culture. Sophie identifies completely with the folklore, mythology, and songs from her native land. When she needs a way to define hers...

Sexuality—and specifically, female sexuality—is a fraught topic in Danticat's work. Sophie's body represents a particular battleground, one that is on the front lines of a cultural rift between...

While we spend all of our time in Sophie's head, the focus of this discussion has to be on Martine. She suffers from mental illness from the time of her rape at the age of sixteen. She never seeks...

Sophie's role as a woman is complicated because she has to negotiate two cultures. Martine keeps close watch on her and expects her to behave like a Haitian woman in terms of sexuality, but to succ...

Sophie's story's a classic (though traumatic) coming-of-age narrative. She is a young girl thrust from her familiar environment into a situation that makes her grow up super quickly. But her develo...

When the neighbors in Croix-des-Rosets find out that Martine's sent for Sophie, they're glad for her. They expect that she is going to be with her mother in a land of opportunity. And this is so, b...

Danticat offers us a complex notion of love. It's not simply hearts and flowers. Instead, it's fraught, painful, and often dangerous. Even the love between mother and daughter can wound. We see thi...

Since folklore and storytelling are central to the lives of the women in this story, it's no surprise that magical transformations are an important part of Danticat's work. Sophie relishes the stor...