Breath, Eyes, Memory: Chapter 9 Summary & Analysis

Six years have passed—Sophie is now 18, and about to start college in the fall. Martine is still working two jobs, but the two of them have saved up enough to move to a one-family house in a nicer, quieter part of Brooklyn near where Marc lives. Martine has a garden now, but tends only hibiscus—never daffodils. The new living room is still decorated entirely in red.

Martine is proud of Sophie for having made it into a good college—but Sophie is resentful of Martine for sending her to a strict Haitian Adventist school for so many years and allowing her to incur the teasing of other neighborhood kids. Nevertheless, Sophie is able to speak French and English fluently in addition to Creole, and has spent the last six years studying hard.

Sophie has also fallen in love. Just as Tante Atie always warned her that love, like rain, would “drown you” if you weren’t careful, Sophie has quickly fallen head over heels for an older man named Joseph—a jazz musician who looks a little bit like Monsieur Augustin, and who lives next door to Sophie and her mother. Martine has always warned Sophie to stay away from “American boys,” and other than Marc, has kept her away from men.

Whenever Joseph greets Sophie or Martine—who are almost always together when they walk in the public—Martine clutches Sophie close, as if to “rescue [her] from his stare.” Sophie, though, is flattered by Joseph’s attention, and enjoys exchanging “conspiring” looks with him. One day, when Joseph comes by to use the phone while Martine is at work, he and Sophie formally meet—and begin flirting right away. Joseph admires Sophie’s slight accent. When he asks where she’s from and she tells him she’s from Haiti, he says he’s from Louisiana, but they both speak a form of Creole. Joseph explains that he stays in Brooklyn occasionally but spends most of the year in Providence or out on tour as a musician. Before leaving, Joseph tells Sophie he works from home, and invites her to “drop by.”

Sophie is too shy—and too scared of her mother—to take Joseph up on his invitation, but they meet again when Joseph brings Sophie a sandwich, again while Martine is at work, to thank her for letting him use the phone. The two of them talk, and Sophie admits to Joseph that though she’s going to study to be a doctor, she isn’t really passionate about the career choice. Joseph asks Sophie what she wants to do, but she’s forced to admit she doesn’t really know who she is or what her dreams are. Joseph tells Sophie it’s okay to “flow wherever life takes you,” but Sophie tells Joseph that his statement is “very American.” Joseph tells Sophie he’s not American, he’s African American—which means that he and Sophie are “already part of each other.” Sophie blushes and chokes on her sandwich.

Sophie begins going over to Joseph’s apartment every day while her mother is working, even though she knows the wrath she’ll incur if she’s caught. She listens to Joseph play music, and the two of them talk about their lives. Joseph tells Sophie about his music career and his experimentation with slave songs and spirituals, and Sophie tells Joseph about her journey from Haiti to New York. They grow closer and closer each day, and one afternoon, Joseph tells Sophie that he wants to marry her in spite of the resistance they’ll surely face from her mother because of his age. Sophie, however, doesn’t see Joseph as old, even though he’s her mother’s age—he feels like an ally and a friend.

One night, after a performance, Joseph shows up at Sophie’s house to take her out to dinner. Sophie calls Martine at her night shift to make sure she’s not coming home, then goes out with Joseph. When he returns Sophie to her doorstep that night, she tells him that she fears he won’t respect her if she admits how much she likes him—she knows “what all men want.” Joseph insists that all he wants with Sophie is to pursue happiness and love. That night, in bed, Sophie can hear the sounds of Joseph’s music coming through the window, and feels an illicit “rush.”