Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Breath, Eyes, Memory, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Mothers, Daughters, and Generational Trauma
Virginity and Violence
Home
Memory, Storytelling, and the Past
Summary
Analysis
The next night, Martine comes home from work early and tells Sophie she wants to take her out, claiming that the two of them haven’t spent enough time together lately. On the subway, as the train sails over the East River, Martine says she wishes that Tante Atie and Granmè Ifé would come to America. Sophie asks Martine if she’ll ever go back to Haiti, and Martine says she’ll have to return to help her mother make preemptive arrangements for her final resting place one day—but there are “ghosts” in Haiti, and Martine is not looking forward to going back.
Martine and Sophie experience a rare and calm moment of togetherness. As Martine opens up to Sophie about her hopes, her fears, and her “ghosts,” Sophie believes that the moment is ripe for her, too, to open up about her innermost feelings.
Themes
Sophie changes the subject and asks her mother if it’s okay to like someone now that she’s 18. Martine begins asking who Sophie likes, and Sophie invents a fake boy named “Henry Napoleon.” Martine recognizes the surname—the name of a wealthy Haitian family—and becomes excited, demanding to meet the boy. Sophie quickly says that Henry and his parents are in Haiti but assures Martine she can meet them when they return.
Sophie’s attempt to level with her mother and talk to her as an equal fails as Martine rabidly seizes on the idea of Sophie having a love interest and demands to know every detail. Sophie panics and lies, determined to keep her mother from suspecting that she is being romantic or sexual with a man, which would be unacceptable in Martine’s eyes.
Themes
After telling her mother about her love interest, Sophie decides she needs to be extra careful around Martine. She cooks Martine’s favorite dishes, using a mortar and pestle to grind spices specially for each meal. Sophie gets good grades in school and works hard not to act wistful or distracted when Joseph is away on a gig. Martine continues asking about “Henry,” and Sophie keeps lying, stating that he’s away. Meanwhile, she receives postcards from Joseph nearly every day, and is careful to check the mail before her mother so that the letters remain secret. Nearly every night, Martine awakes with nightmares, and credits Sophie with saving her life when she wakes her up each night.
Sophie continues to care for her mother and, by Martine’s own admission, keep her alive—but at the same time, slowly feels more and more stifled as she weighs the prospect of a future chained to her mother against a future of love, freedom, and equality with Joseph.
Themes
