"My mother's daughter and Tante Atie's child"

It in these chapters we begin to see the how Sophie is dealing with the new dynamics of her life. The time jump that happens between Chapters Eight and Nine is immensely important. Stylistically it takes the story away from being a story of the Immigrant vs. the Native and it brings us to the point where the conflict is truly internal. Sophie’s sexual maturation is a much more fertile ground for the “choosing” of cultures because as much as her mother (and really all first generation parents which she represents) is pushing her to take more agency in her life doing so empowers her to make decisions in about things in ways her mother would not agree with. The sexual taboo is a big one in all cultures and so very particular to each, traversing cultures only further complicates things. As we've seen Sophie's mother argues from the position of weakness of women and sees men as a kind of a threat, that women are locked into a competition with that one can win or lose based on who starts caring about whom quicker. It’s obvious that Sophie's relationship with Joseph is going to challenge the bond between her and her mother but what remains to be seen is whether she will adopt the same attitude towards men and relationships as her mother.

Sophie's Nightmares

            During the beginning chapters of Danticat’s novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory we meet the protagonist, Sophie Caco and her aunt, Tante Atie. The two of them have just received word that Sophie’s mother who is residing in New York City has requested that Sophie be sent to her from Croix-des-Rosets, Haiti. Sophie’s mother, Martine sent a cassette tape that stated, “I want my daughter”(16). Seeing as her mother did not raise her, Sophie views Tante Atie as a mother figure. She composes a poem and makes a Mother’s Day card for her aunt. The poem reads, “My mother is a daffodil,/ limber and strong as one./ My mother is a daffodil,/ but the wind, iron strong.”(29) The two share a very close bond. Sophie’s grandmother says, “You must never forget this…your mother is your first friend”(24); however, Danticat suggests that Tante Atie will always be Sophie’s first friend. It is evident that Tante Atie cares deeply for the girl because she has watched over her and reared her while her mother had to abandoned her. Moreover, Tante Atie goes to great lengths to make Sophie’s departure memorable by using her fine china to serve breakfast in, special linens to cover the table with and even open her box of white towels that she had been saving for a “special occasion”(28). According to Danticat, Sophie “only knew [her] mother from the picture on the night table by Tante Atie’s pillow”(8). Sophie repeatedly describes nightmares about her mother chasing her down and trying to take her away. The dream is resolved when Tante Atie rescues Sophie from Martine’s “grasp”(8). The young girl’s nightmares and her maternal-child relationship with Tante Atie communicate the sense that Sophie’s departure to New York City to live with her mother may not be “the best thing that is ever going to happen to [her]”(14), as Madame Augustin claims. Sophie’s nightmares foreshadow the experiences that she will have to face once she begins a new phase in her life with Martine. Are there any other symbols or events, which intimate that Sophie may be like the people whose creator “gives them the sky to carry because they are strong”(25); the ones that are destined to “see a lot of trouble in [their lives]”(25)?