Purity

In the novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat, female purity seems to be a big concern. In the chapters that follow chapter ten, we see Sophie really pushing the envelope by going out with Joseph. The fact that she comes home so late is a reason for her mother to be concerned about her purity. She “tests” her to see if she is still a virgin. These examinations are ongoing and eventually Sophie is sick of them. The fact that she is willing to take her own virginity is appalling to say the least.
Purity is something that many cultures find to be sacred. For a woman to not be ‘pure’ any longer is a symbol of rebellion. Sophie is rebelling against her mother. The fact that her mother tests her to see if she is still pure is excruciating. She says her mother tells her stories while she is testing her to take her mind off of what is happening. I feel that Sophie taking her own virginity by a motor pestle is pent up aggression. Sophie wants to marry Joseph the Jazz musician; she can’t tell her mother so instead she does one thing that she knows would blow her mother’s mind. Sophie’s actions do not make her un-pure but desperate to be with the man she loves and if that means putting herself through pain she is willing to do so.

Mr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Papa reminds me of Jekyll and Hyde. He shows the world that he is civilized and very passionate about speaking up about things that are wrong, like the government, yet when he goes home he becomes this abusive monster. The fact that he keeps his family on a short leash is showing that he can’t trust them at all. He doesn’t take well to rebellion. He feels that if they rebel in anyway it’s due to them being swayed by sin.
When we meet his sister Aunt Ifeoma, who was born and raised the same way as him, has a different approach to keeping her kids in line and it’s not by abuse. You can’t even blame papa’s upbringing because the book shows the two siblings in contrast with each other. The fact that he is a product of colonization is answer enough. He has adopted everything that the British have taught him. Religion is the biggest factor.
I feel that papa is portrayed in this light because it’s to show the reader that you should never judge a book by its cover. No one would believe that he lifts his hand to his wife and children because he gives money to charities, he goes to mass everyday and he’s loaded. Why would he need to beat his family? You can’t help but see him as a bad person throughout the novel. I want to see him as a somewhat good character but just because you give money to a charity does not make you a good person. If he was a good person at all, why would his wife kill him? Why would Jaja have animosity towards him? For Kimbali the loss of papa is a big deal because at the end of the day it was still her father. He raised her to be who she is and yes he did abuse her yet she didn’t despise him for it otherwise she would not feel the loss so much.