Call it intuition, but after reading the second to last chapter - I knew Martine was going to die. Did anyone else guess the end to this story? Perhaps what tipped me off was the closing scene of Chapter 34, when Sophie sees Buki's balloon caught in the tree above her head. She describes it as so:
"We thought it had floated into the clouds, even hoped that it had traveled to Africa, but there it was slowly dying in a tree right above my head." (p.221)
After reading this, I think I felt the need to interpret this passage as a symbolic foreshadowing. If the balloon is Martine, Sophie is confirming that her mother's death is approaching. Like the balloon, her mother is trapped in her own self and tortured by past memories. So, even if the people around Martine thought she was okay (like the people thought the balloon had floated into the clouds), all this time Martine has been deceiving everyone.
With that being said, if we travel along that line of thinking, did Martine commit suicide? As Marc explains, there were piles of sheets in the bathroom where she had stabbed her stomach, therefore leading all to believe it was a premeditated suicide (page 224). However, Martine does appear deeply disturbed and haunted by the baby growing inside her. Was her death accidental? Did she truly intend on only terminating her pregnancy?
Whether it was suicide or accidental, Martine's death is a powerful ending to the book. How did everyone interpret this choice of ending? Is Danticat suggesting that people like Sophie and Martine will truly be haunted by past memories until their deaths? If so, is there no escaping the past? I personally believe that Danticat is suggesting that there is no escaping the past, and furthermore, pain from the past can never be fully explained. There is something secretive and personal about Sophie and Martine (which Danticat mentions in the Afterword). I was also curious as to how people interpreted the Afterword. Is Sophie a real character, or is she just a symbolic stand in for any woman who has experience her pain?
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When i was reading the lines that Lisa mentioned, ""We thought it had floated into the clouds, even hoped that it had traveled to Africa, but there it was slowly dying in a tree right above my head," (p.221)I had actually believed that this was symbolizing Sophie. i found it to mean that just like that balloon that was stuck in the tree, Sophiw would be stuck in her past. another aspect of Martine's death that i had found symbolic however was the fact that she stabbed herself seventeen times. since the begining of the novel the age eighteen has been significant. eighteen was the age when Martine said that Sophie would be allowed to date, then it was also the age at which sophie ran away. i believe that the reason that Martine stabbed herself seventeen times is, in essence, because that up until the age of seventeen, Martine had total control of Sophie. so i believe that she had meant to commit suicide.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Lisa’s blog post, I thought to myself, was Martine death accidental or suicide? (A question pointed out by Lisa) It is hard to say weather or not Martine’s death was on purpose or not. Martine died right after Sophie and her family left for home. During short visit prior to the death, the mother and daughter were getting along very well. It was almost unbelievable how well they were getting along. Sophie knew under her mothers smile and happy words Martine was still very much depressed. When she left she wasn’t convinced that her mother would be ok. However I do not think Martine commented suicide. I feel that while she was trying to get rid of her baby by stabbing herself, she was enraged with wanting the child out of her that she didn’t realize how much harm she was causing herself. Martine’s death was accidental. I fell like she was in such a good mood prior to her death why would she end her life.
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