Breath, Eyes, Memory Character Analysis

Sophie Caco

The protagonist of Breath, Eyes, Memory, Sophie Caco grows from a girl of 12 to a mother in her early 20s over the course of the novel. Born in the Haitian village of Croix-des-Rosets… read analysis of Sophie Caco

Martine Caco

Sophie’s mother. After giving birth to Sophie in her teens, Martine left for New York in order to pursue a better life for herself and her daughter, promising to send for Sophie when the… read analysis of Martine Caco

Tante Atie

Sophie’s aunt and Martine’s sister. As Sophie’s primary caregiver throughout her childhood, Tante Atie is kind and generous, but stokes longing, pain, and trauma of her own that she does her best to… read analysis of Tante Atie

Granmè Ifé

Martine and Tante Atie’s mother and Sophie’s grandmother. A wise old woman obsessed with death and dying, Granmè Ifé has dressed only in black for the many years since her husband’s death. Additionally… read analysis of Granmè Ifé

Joseph

A soulful musician who starts out as Sophie and Martine’s next-door neighbor and eventually becomes Sophie’s husband and the father of her daughter, Brigitte. Joseph originally comes from Louisiana—he speaks a version of… read analysis of Joseph

Marc

Martine’s long-term boyfriend. A Haitian lawyer who insists on introducing himself by his full name—Marc Jolibois Francis Legrand Moravien Chevalier—Marc keeps the “old ways” in spite of having lived in Brooklyn for so many… read analysis of Marc

Louise

A woman who lives in La Nouvelle Dame Marie. She is Tante Atie’s best friend and letters teacher, and quite possibly her lover. Louise is desperate to make it to America, and is constantly… read analysis of Louise

Davina

A member of Sophie’s sexual phobia support group. Davina, a middle-aged Chicana woman who was raped by her grandfather for 10 years, hosts the support group in a specially-designated room of her house, to… read analysis of Davina

Minor Characters

Monsieur Augustin

Sophie’s schoolteacher. Monsieur Augustin, as a younger man, once loved Tante Atie, but abandoned her for his current wife, leaving Tante Atie devastated.

Madame Augustin

Monsieur Augustin’s wife. A somewhat smug woman who hates Tante Atie, and purposefully spills the beans about Sophie’s mother having summoned her from America in order to make things more difficult for Tante Atie.

Brigitte

Sophie’s infant daughter. A calm, happy six-month-old child, Brigitte sleeps peacefully each night. Brigitte and gives Sophie hope that her and Martine’s traumas might end with them.

Eliab

A young boy who lives in La Nouvelle Dame Marie. He often runs errands for the women of the village, including Granmè Ifé and Tante Atie, in exchange for pennies and coins.

Man Grace

Louise’s mother.

Dessalines

A coal vendor at the market in La Nouvelle Dame Marie. Dessalines is killed by a group of Tonton Macoutes.

Chabin

The albino lottery man in the village of Croix-des-Rosets.

Rena

Sophie’s therapist. A Santeria priestess, Rena is straightforward, aggressive, and determined to get Sophie to confront the painful traumas and uncomfortable truths about her relationship with her mother that are holding her back from healing.

Buki

A member of Sophie’s sexual phobia support group. An Ethiopian college student, Buki was subjected to female genital mutilation at the hands of her grandmother when she was a young girl. She is still trying to heal from the physical and emotional wound of that trauma.