Why does she so resolutely stick to her idea of staying with her mother and doing her "duty," even though Ifé; says, "Atie, she should go. She cannot stay out of duty. The things one does, one should do out of love"

Being raised in Haiti, Sophie and Martine had to accept the rules imposed by Grandme Ife and by her husband. The way Martine tested Sophie and the limitations Martine imposed upon herself are all the result of Martine’s upbringing and of the traditions Martine was subjected to. Martine was traumatized because she was raised in a society where women had no value and in the end the traumas she suffered in her childhood pushed her to suicide in adulthood. Sophie was also influenced by the customs and traditions of the country she left behind and because she was tested by her mother, she never became capable of experiencing pleasure during intercourse with her husband.