The Farming of Bones Character Analysis

Amabelle Désir

Amabelle Désir, the protagonist of the story, is a dark-skinned Haitian domestic worker living in the Dominican Republic. Amabelle is dreamy and prone to fantasy, often relying on her imagination to escape from her difficult… read analysis of Amabelle Désir

Sebastien Onius

Sebastien Onius, a migrant worker from Haiti, is Amabelle Désir’s lover. Sebastien, like Amabelle, lost a parent to a natural disaster: his father was killed in a hurricane, which prompted him to leave Haiti… read analysis of Sebastien Onius

Señora Valencia

Señora Valencia, who is married to Señor Pico, is Amabelle’s boss in the Dominican Republic. She and Amabelle grew up together, and often disregarded their class boundaries in order to play together as… read analysis of Señora Valencia

Señor Pico

Señor Pico, often referred to as Pico, is married to Señora Valencia. Pico is very loyal to Rafael Trujillo, the Generalissimo, who is the dictator of the Dominican Republic. Pico takes pride… read analysis of Señor Pico

Don Ignacio

Don Ignacio, also known as Papi, is Señora Valencia’s father and an “exiled patriot” from Spain. Don Ignacio listens to the radio for news about the Spanish civil war each night, and is seemingly… read analysis of Don Ignacio

Yves

Yves is a friend of Sebastien, and escapes the Dominican Republic with Amabelle as Dominican soldiers begin targeting Haitians for violence. Once Yves and Amabelle reach Haiti, Yves’s family takes Amabelle in as a… read analysis of Yves

Juana

Juana is a housemaid in Señora Valencia’s home, and has worked for Don Ignacio for many years. Juana took care of multiple generations of Don Ignacio’s family, and is moved to tears by the… read analysis of Juana

Luis

Luis is Juana’s husband and also a worker in Don Ignacio’s home. Luis badly wants a family of his own, but like Juana, he makes do with caring for his employer’s family instead… read analysis of Luis

Doctor Javier

Doctor Javier is a physician for Señora Valencia, and a respected man in the community. Despite his high social standing, he is unsympathetic to the Dominican government’s violent agenda, and sympathetic to Haitian workers… read analysis of Doctor Javier

Antoine Désir

Antoine Désir is Amabelle Désir’s father. He died unexpectedly during Amabelle’s childhood after getting caught in a flash flood. He is an herb healer, and often helped with births and deaths in his Haitian… read analysis of Antoine Désir

Señorita Beatriz

Señorita Beatriz is Doctor Javier’s sister. Beatriz dreams of escaping the Dominican Republic, and aspires to be a newspaperwoman who travels the world. Amabelle implies, however, that Beatriz is a sheltered and privileged woman… read analysis of Señorita Beatriz

Joël

Joël is a friend of Sebastien and Yves, and a fellow Haitian immigrant working in the cane fields. Joël is killed in an automobile accident: Señor Pico, after hearing of the birth of… read analysis of Joël

Kongo

Kongo is Joël’s father. Kongo is devastated to hear of his son’s murder, but is unable to seek revenge because his son was killed by Señor Pico, a powerful government official. Although Señor… read analysis of Kongo

Man Rapadou

Man Rapadou is Yves’s mother, and acts as a caretaker and surrogate family member to Amabelle when she returns to Haiti. As Amabelle heals from her traumatic escape, Man Rapadou teaches Amabelle multiple lessons… read analysis of Man Rapadou

Rosalinda

Rosalinda is Señora Valencia’s and Señor Pico’s newborn daughter. She is named for Señora Valencia’s mother, and outlives Rafael as the family’s only child. Rosalinda’s skin is darker in color than Rafael’s, leading… read analysis of Rosalinda

Irelle Pradelle

Irelle is Amabelle Désir’s mother. Like Antoine, Irelle died unexpectedly in a flood; as a result, Amabelle learned about grief and loss at an early age. Amabelle remembers her mother as a woman who… read analysis of Irelle Pradelle

Father Romain

Father Romain is a Haitian priest and community leader. In his sermons, Father Romain prompts his congregants to remember their shared cultural heritage, and to recall Haitian traditions, foods, songs, and stories. In this way… read analysis of Father Romain

Odette

Odette is a Haitian refugee who tries to escape the Dominican Republic alongside Amabelle and a group of other evacuees. Her lover, Wilner, is also trying to escape the violence. Amabelle, Odette, Yves… read analysis of Odette

Wilner

Wilner is Odette’s partner. Wilner and Odette are part of a group of Haitian refugees fleeing the massacre in the Dominican Republic. Wilner is spotted and murdered by Dominican soldiers while attempting to cross… read analysis of Wilner

The Generalissimo / Trujillo

The Generalissimo is a nickname given to Rafael Trujillo, the dictator of the Dominican Republic. Trujillo is prejudiced against the Haitians; he claims that the Dominican Republic must preserve its culture and sovereignty by exterminating… read analysis of The Generalissimo / Trujillo

Don Gilbert

Don Gilbert is married to Doña Sabine, and together they form one of the richest Haitian families in the part of the Dominican Republic where Amabelle lives. While their wealth initially protects them from… read analysis of Don Gilbert

Doña Sabine

Along with Don Gilbert, Doña Sabine is one of the wealthiest Haitians in Amabelle’s town in the Dominican Republic. She and Don Gilbert occupy a privileged social position until the coming massacre threatens… read analysis of Doña Sabine

Unél

Unél is a Haitian stonemason who forms a brigade of watchmen to protect Haitians in the Dominican Republic. He believes that Haitians have to fight for their right to live there. During a confrontation between… read analysis of Unél

Félice

Félice is Joël’s lover. After he dies, Félice expresses to Amabelle her wish to help Dominicans learn to respect Haitians as equals. As the massacre begins, Félice is too scared to try and flee… read analysis of Félice

Tibon

Tibon is one of the travelers whom Amabelle and Yves meet while fleeing to Haiti. He was part of a group of Haitians whom Dominican soldiers forced to jump off a cliff, but he survived… read analysis of Tibon

Man Denise

Man Denise is the mother of Sebastien and Mimi. Amabelle meets Man Denise back in Haiti, where Man Denise lives. Man Denise is already aware of her children’s deaths when Amabelle arrives, and she expresses… read analysis of Man Denise

Father Emil

Father Emil is a priest whom Amabelle meets after she returns to Haiti. He used to listen to the stories that survivors of the massacre told him, but now he does not, because he can’t… read analysis of Father Emil

Doloritas

Doloritas is one of two Dominican sisters whom Amabelle meets while fleeing from the massacre. Doloritas and her sister Dolores only speak Spanish, but they are traveling to Haiti because they hope to find Doloritas’s… read analysis of Doloritas

Minor Characters

Rafael

Rafael is Señora Valencia’s and Señor Pico’s newborn son. He is named after Rafael Trujillo, the Generalissimo and dictator of the Dominican Republic. Rafael unexpectedly dies soon after he is born, devastating Señora Valencia’s family.

Mimi

Mimi is Sebastien Onius’s sister. Mimi, like Sebastien, is killed during the Parsley Massacre; her death, alongside her brother’s, is a source of profound grief for Amabelle.

Father Vargas

Father Vargas is a Dominican priest who says a blessing after Rafael dies. Later on, he is arrested along with Father Romain and Doctor Javier, presumably because he is sympathetic to Haitians living in the Dominican Republic.

Doña Eva

Doña Eva is a rich Dominican widow and the mother of Doctor Javier. She moves away to New York in the years after Amabelle returns to Haiti.

Dolores

Dolores is one of the Dominican sisters who briefly travel with Amabelle’s group as they flee the massacre. The sisters want to travel to Haiti to find the Haitian man whom Doloritas, Dolores’s sister, has been seeing. Along with Doloritas, Dolores leaves the group when Wilner asks them to.

The Farming of Bones Characters