Radical Liberation

At first with the discussion of the class that Martine was crazy, I didnt agree with what was said.  Then after finishing the novel, I see where these inferences where coming from.  The act of committing suicide can definitely be tied to insanity but we must try to look deeper into the reasons behind this tragedy.  The rape is definitely the cause of all of the trauma that Martine went through because her life was never the same after that.  She was often trying to escape her past memories by leaving the area that she grew up in and where the incident took place but it would always haunt her in the form of nightmares.  The fact that she couldn't comfortably have sexual relations with her boyfriend Marc also shows evidence of being deeply scarred by the incident.  Other forms of trauma are the voices that she hears when she discovers that she is pregnant with another child.  She tries to cope with this stress by escaping physically and also mentally by suppressing it by not showing it through her exterior interactions with others such as Joseph, Sophie's husband.  All of these forms of dealing with the stress is not enough because after so many years, it still resonates in the same intensity within her.  So by taking her life, she finds the most radical type of liberation that a person could find.  But i just wanted to justify that Martine was not just crazy.  I think she was severely emotionally damaged by the incident.   

Death

When Sophie was younger and living in Haiti with her aunt she had a more care-free attitude. This may be due to the fact that her mother was not physically present in her life in Haiti. She knew of her mother through her aunt, but was not aware of her ways and traditions that would later on influence her life. Once moving to New York with her mother Sophie did not like all of the values that her mother mentally and physically instilled in her. She associates her mothers impositions to a sort of bondage. Her mother's does not just advise her how to carry herself, but physically makes sure she is following her rules. We see this when she starts the testing. Sophie is totally violated when this is done to her. Even though Sophie hurts herself in order to stop the testing she is still not "free" from the bondage in which came from her mother. It seems like it is not until her third trip, to Haiti, that is her mother's death that makes a difference in her life. Her mothers death may have truely signified the separation from her mother. It may not have only been the literally death of her mother, but the death of the old things that happened to not only her mother, but Sophie as well.

The Color Red

The color red is used at a few different points in the book in order to show the details like the inside of Martine and Sophie’s house, the testing, and Martine’s favorite color, which also is the reason for her burial in a red dress.

Furthermore, red is always compared with bleeding which is mentioned by menstruation and Sophie losing her virginity. There is a difference between bleeding from a wound and having the period. The menstruation happens once a month, which is a necessity for the woman’s body to function properly. Blood plays a role once Martine starts testing Sophie because she was afraid that she might have lost her virginity to a man. This happens when Sophie returns home late one night. Martine wants to make sure she is a virgin and thus pure, since this affects the marriage. The testing is a very annoying, embarrassing and painful act for Sophie.
And also, I think that the red dress for Martine’s burial shows the anger Martine had kept for herself, due to the disappointment she had towards Sophie.

ONLY ONE WAY TO END

There was only one way Martine was able to get away from her trama and sorrows. The only ways she was able to escape was to take the ultimate escape, death. She moved from Haiti to the United States, yet still she was not able to accomplish an safe-heaven for herself. She tried to confront her rapist indirectly by facing Sophia yet still she was not able to overcome. Things only became only worse with her nightmares haunting her everynight. Martine was not able to outrun the past or even hide from it. Martine's life binded to the tramatic event, she was never able to suppress the horrible events. It is interesting how before dieing Martine says she could not carry the baby. This raises the question, if Martine had done a abortion with Sophia would she have been able to overcome the horrific event overtime or would it have been the same. Sophia to Martine was a constant reminder of the rape, maybe if the the reminder was not there she would have been able to BREATH !