Thérèse (Mary) Timeline and Summary

Thérèse first pops up while she's doing some washing for Valerian. He gives her less and less to do, and she knows that she should take this as an insult. But she's too old to do other kinds of work, and she's still happy for what she can get.
When Gideon returns from some chores, he and Thérèse gossip about the young black man who has been living on the island and sneaking into their boss' vacation house. Gideon tells Thérèse that he saw the young man out in the open hanging out with their boss (Valerian) and his servants.
Thérèse shows us that she doesn't think very highly of the Street family's black American servants. As for the white Americans, she doesn't think of them at all.
One day, Gideon brings Son back to Thérèse's house, and Thérèse becomes totally enamored with Son. She asks him all kinds of questions about living in America, and Gideon scolds her for pestering the young man so much.
Later in the book, Son finds Thérèse selling smoked eel in a Dominique market. He asks for a ride out to Valerian Street's island so he can find his lover Jade. Against the advice of Gideon, the blind Thérèse agrees to take him out to the island in a small boat. At the end of the book, Thérèse disappears back into the mist and leaves Son to fend for himself on the island.