Louise Character Analysis in Breath, Eyes, Memory

A woman who lives in La Nouvelle Dame Marie. She is Tante Atie’s best friend and letters teacher, and quite possibly her lover. Louise is desperate to make it to America, and is constantly trying to pawn off her prize pig for 500 gourdes so that she can book passage on a boat to Miami. Though everyone around her warns Louise that the trip is dangerous by boat, Louise is determined to leave Haiti the cheapest way possible, as soon as she can. Eventually, Granmè Ifé, off-put by the closeness between Louise and Tante Atie and desperate to become Tante Atie’s priority once more, purchases Louise’s pig in order to make her leave Haiti. After securing the money, Louise leaves the village without giving Tante Atie so much as a goodbye.

Louise Character Timeline in Breath, Eyes, Memory

The timeline below shows where the character Louise appears in Breath, Eyes, Memory. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Mothers, Daughters, and Generational Trauma Theme Icon

...over to a stand to buy a drink, Sophie realizes he is purchasing it from Louise, Man Grace’s daughter. Sophie watches as a female merchant drops her basket. The other women... (full context)

...tree as some Macoutes use the van as a spot to sit and eat lunch. Louise approaches Sophie and asks her if she wants to buy a pig. Though Sophie insists... (full context)

Louise admires Sophie’s ability to pay for the journey from America to Haiti, and admits that... (full context)

Louise fetches Sophie a cola from her own stand and gives it to her, but asks... (full context)

...condition.” As they pass Man Grace’s farm, Tante Atie laments that ever since Grace died, Louise has been unable to sleep alone. (full context)

Memory, Storytelling, and the Past Theme Icon

That night, at supper, Granmè Ifé asks Tante Atie if she is going to Louise’s tonight for a reading lesson. She says Tante Atie should be taking official reading classes,... (full context)

...Sophie is impressed with the efficient, no-nonsense way she shops. At the market, Sophie spies Louise at her cola stand, selling drinks to a few Macoutes. One of them makes a... (full context)

...Ifé and Sophie head for home. Sophie asks why her grandmother spoke so callously to Louise, but Granmè Ifé won’t give her a straight answer—all she says is that since Tante... (full context)

The next morning, Tante Atie proudly announces that she and Louise are going to the city for the day to formally register their names in the... (full context)

That night, Louise comes over for supper, bringing with her a smaller pig as a gift to Granmè... (full context)

...Martine’s tape into the other room to finish it while Tante Atie reads Sophie and Louise some poetry from her notebook. After Brigitte falls asleep and Louise leaves, Tante Atie and... (full context)

The next morning, Louise comes to the house in tears, crying that the Macoutes killed Dessalines the coal vendor—and... (full context)

That night, in her bedroom, Sophie overhears Louise and Tante Atie talking on the porch. Tante Atie is sad, and says looking at... (full context)

...a hours before heading out again. She doesn’t return until the early morning hours, when Louise helps her straggle home. (full context)

...Tante Atie and Sophie watch her go, Sophie asks Tante Atie about her relationship with Louise, and whether she’ll be sad when Louise leaves. Tante Atie states that she will miss... (full context)

That afternoon, Eliab brings Granmè Ifé back home. Tante Atie is out with Louise, and doesn’t come home for supper. As Granmè Ifé and Sophie eat in the yard,... (full context)

...to sit on the porch and wait for Tante Atie’s return. Eventually, Tante Atie and Louise come walking up the road. Louise goes into the yard, fetches the pig she gave... (full context)

...Sophie on the delicious meal. After dinner, Tante Atie goes off to her lesson with Louise, and Granmè Ifé says she can hear footsteps on the road. She says the footsteps... (full context)

...that night as she eats the fried pork—she has had to accept the fact that Louise is gone, disappeared “into thin air.” In the end, Granmè Ifé bought Louise’s large pig... (full context)

...Atie if she and Brigitte can sleep in her bedroom. Tante Atie is distraught over Louise’s departure and Granmè Ifé’s betrayal, and Sophie tries to comfort her by telling her Louise... (full context)