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 years. When Sophie arrives in New York, Marc and Martine have already been together for an indeterminate amount of time, and though Marc keeps pictures of Martine in his office and often takes her and Sophie out to dinner, Martine never talks about her romantic feelings for Marc, and never shares with Sophie any plans for marrying or moving in with him. By the time Sophie is an adult, Marc and Martine are still together, though they still don’t cohabitate or have any plans for marriage. When Sophie finds out that Martine is pregnant with Marc’s baby, she is shocked to realize that her mother and Marc sleep together. She is sad when she realizes her mother has maintained a sexual relationship with Marc by “doubling” or dissociating because Martine feels regularly submitting to sex, in spite of the pain it causes her, is worth having someone sleeping next to her to help ward off her night terrors. Marc is an upstanding man, a proud member of the Haitian community in Brooklyn, and outwardly kind—but there is an undercurrent of control in his relationship with Martine, and Sophie resents him for not taking better care of her mother or preventing Martine’s eventual suicide.
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Marc Character Timeline in Breath, Eyes, Memory
The timeline below shows where the character Marc appears in Breath, Eyes, Memory. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7
...out front that reads “MARC CHEVALIER, ESQUIRE.” Martine rings the bell, and a well-dressed Haitian man—Marc—answers the door. He excitedly welcomes Martine and Sophie into his handsome office. Martine kisses him...
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That night, Marc drives Sophie and Martine out to a Haitian restaurant in Asbury Park to treat them...
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When the food arrives, Marc complains about the quality of the meal—but Sophie stuffs herself as if she has “been...
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Marc asks Sophie what she wants to be when she grows up, and she says she...
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Chapter 8
Martine asks Sophie what she thinks of Marc, and Sophie says she thinks Marc is “smart.” Martine tells Sophie the story of how...
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Chapter 9
...to move to a one-family house in a nicer, quieter part of Brooklyn near where Marc lives. Martine has a garden now, but tends only hibiscus—never daffodils. The new living room...
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...mother. Martine has always warned Sophie to stay away from “American boys,” and other than Marc, has kept her away from men.
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Chapter 12
...she begins to hear Joseph’s saxophone playing and becomes deeply sad. Martine is out with Marc, and Sophie wanders into the kitchen, takes the pestle from a cabinet, and brings it...
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Chapter 28
...still decorated all in red, and when Martine checks her messages, they are all from Marc. Sophie goes upstairs to her room to find that her things are gone. Martine apologizes...
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...ready to go out for a little while. Sophie asks if she’s going to see Marc, and if she’s ever going to marry him, but Martine says to do so this...
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Martine comes home from seeing Marc, explaining to Sophie that she had something important to tell him. Sophie asks if Martine’s...
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Chapter 29
...Sophie asks her mother about where she went last night, and what news she gave Marc. Martine replies that she is pregnant. Sophie is stunned that Martine and Marc have been...
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Sophie asks Martine if Marc has helped ease the nightmares at all, and Martine basically admits that she has traded...
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...stay with Martine longer, but Martine urges her to get back on the road to Providence—Marc, she says, will come care for her. Sophie urges her mother to marry Marc, but...
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Chapter 30
...Sophie cannot sleep. She calls her mother, but Martine hurries off the phone, explaining that Marc is at the apartment. After hanging up the phone, Sophie tells Joseph that her mother...
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...has cooked for her and does not purge. She calls her mother to ask how Marc is, and how the baby is. Martine begs Sophie not to call the fetus a...
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Chapter 32
When Sophie tells Rena that she is going to visit Martine and Marc the following weekend, Rena asks Sophie to picture her mother as a sexual being. Sophie...
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Chapter 33
...Sophie, Joseph, and Brigitte on the stoop outside her house, welcoming them warmly and introducing Marc to Joseph. Inside, Marc cooks fish in a skillet while Martine shows Joseph the house....
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Chapter 35
...into the room and plays Sophie a message off the answering machine. It is from Marc, for Sophie, urging her to call him about Martine. Marc’s voice is quivering. Sophie immediately...
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Sophie asks Marc to tell her what happened, and Marc explained that in the middle of the previous...
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Sophie screams at Marc for sleeping through her mother’s suicide, but Marc protests that he tried to save her...
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At Martine and Marc’s house, Sophie finds an odd air of calm—but is disturbed by the trail of blood...
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...mother. That night, in her mother’s apartment, Sophie fights off “evil thoughts.” In the morning, Marc suggests she pick out an outfit for her mother to be buried in—she picks out...
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Marc accompanies Sophie to Haiti. They do not sit together on the plane, though they ride...
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...even sensed her pregnancy. Tante Atie, dressed all in black, embraces Sophie too. That night, Marc, Sophie, Granmè Ifé, and Tante Atie have a private wake. As they sing mourning songs,...
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