Traditions
A major theme in the novel is how the customs and traditions of a country can affect the way a person develops and grows into adulthood. 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.
Mother-Daughter Relationship
The novel analyzes the relationships between Martine and Sophie as well as Martine and Grandme Ife in the novel. Danticat first presents how Grandma Ife treated her daughters, and how the virtues she enforced in her children affected the way Martine disciplined her own daughter. Martine was tested by her mother and even if that affected the way she interacted with men and scarred her mentally, Martine did the same thing to Sophie even though she knew how traumatic it would be for her. This indicates that the way a person is taught influences the way that person will end up teaching their own children; however, Sophie is interested in transcending that truism and making sure she does not do anything similar to Brigitte. Overall, mothers and daughters can do things that hurt each other but the relationship still endures.
National Identity
One of the major themes in the novel is national identity. Sophie identified herself with a Haitian identity until the age of twelve; she was surrounded and raised by people adhering to Haitian customs and traditions. When Sophie moves to New York, she must adapt to a new life in a new world she knows nothing about. Danticat delves into the nature of assimilation and how those who come from a different country rarely get the chance to integrate themselves completely into their new culture, not only because they have difficulty letting their old culture go but because the new culture can be hostile, marginalizing, and confusing. The characters of Martine, Sophie, and Marc are thus trapped between two worlds and reach the point where they can’t fully reconnect with their old culture but they can’t accept the new one completely either.
Trauma
There are many types of trauma explored in the novel, including those relating to rape and sexual abuse, violence and repression by the nation-state, the horror of psychic and bodily memory, loss of loved ones, and exile. The characters evince varying degrees of coping with these traumas—Martine simply c annot face hers and so she represses them, whereas Sophie eventually seeks therapy, understanding, and the ability to forgive. Danticat suggests trauma can be dealt with by confronting the memories of it and fashioning a new narrative. It is not easy or perhaps ever complete, but only by working through the event can a person be free.
Patriarchy and Womanhood
Women in Haiti live in a patriarchal society that tells them they are worth something only if they are a virgin, a wife, and a mother. Their purity is policed by their own family as well as society at large because their bodies are considered only for men. Rape and domestic violence are prevalent, as are the everyday occurrences of lewd gestures and comments. Women are told that they have to mother, nurse, love, bake, scrub, heal, etc.; all of these are tasks for other people, not for themselves. Their voices are muted and their stories are not considered part of the official narrative of the nation-state; if they are part of the narrative in any way at all, it is as a male-devised role such as "mothers of the nation" or patriotic citizens. Danticat exposes these difficulties and the effects they have on women, as well as the major and minor ways some women find to combat them.
Forgiveness
Sophie does not know who she is and cannot seem to unify her fractured self for much of the novel. She has two countries, two mothers (Atie and Martine), confusing traumas that are both her own and inherited from her mother, and an inability to speak up for what she wants. What makes her situation particularly difficult is that two of the women in her life whom she loves are responsible for the most scarring thing that happens to her—the testing. Sophie has to figure out if she can understand why Grandme and Martine carried out testing on their daughters and if there is a way she can forgive them. By the end of the novel, Sophie has achieved that through speaking openly and honestly about how the testing affected her, asking straightforward questions about why they did it, attending therapy, and understanding that their reasons were culturally motivated and near impossible to deviate from. Thus, Sophie forgives her family and moves toward making her own life and that of her daughter more manageable and healthy.
Memory
Memory and the past are important to the women of the story because it connects them to each other, to their larger cultural history, and to their religion. The past is evoked through stories and myths, and memories help the Caco women see themselves as part of something larger. Memory can also be dangerous, though. Martine cannot release the memory of being raped, and this is transferred to Sophie. Sophie cannot release the memories of testing when she is intimate with her husband. Atie cannot let go of Monsieur Augustin, and then Louise. The characters have to learn to accept their memories—not repress them—but find a way to release them.
