Analysis of the Novel by Danticat

This article is devoted to the issue, which has been raised in a novel ‘Breath, Eyes, Memory’ written by Edwidge Danticat. The main character of the novel ‘Breath, Eyes, Memory’ written by Edwidge Danticatis Sophie, a young girl raised by her aunt and grandmother in Haiti. This is the first book of Danticat, in which she describes relationship between Sophie and women from her family.

The novel begins with Mother’s Day and the major character finds out that she will leave her home in Croix-des-Rosets and move to New York where her mother lives. The first chapters are devoted to Sophie’s life in Haiti, depicting her tender relationship with aunt. Sophie’s aunt does not have children and she loves Sophie’s very much. The author skillfully depicts their relationship. When a heroine congratulates her aunt on Mother's Day, her aunt answers: ‘It is for a mother, your mother. When it is Aunt's Day, you can make me one.’ (Danticat, p. 6) Sophie’s aunt loves her niece as her own daughter, but she does not pretend to a role of her mother knowing Sophie has had one.

In the first chapters the author portrays a calm and happy life in Haiti and the Haitian culture. Sophie’s life in New York, described in the last chapters is a direct opposite to Sophie’s life in Haiti. It is difficult for her to live there with her mother, whom she has never known and who left her. American culture is completely foreign to her. Edwidge Danticatmasterly represents Sophie’s confusion and her life in America. ‘Breath, Eyes, Memory’ is a beautifully crafted novel about family, culture, gender roles. It is a story of a young girl and her family – her aunt and grandmother, who surround her and play an important part in her life. It is a powerful novel about relationship between Sophie and her real mother.

The novel ‘Breath, Eyes, Memory’ depicts struggles and lives of women, their emotions and the violence of men. The story shows that real relatives who love Sophie are her aunt and grandmother. They raised her in spite of her origin and the reason she was born. This book shows that there is a bond between a mother and a daughter. However, this bond is strong if a mother raises her child.