Estina Estème Character Analysis in The Dew Breaker

Estina is Dany’s aunt, who raises him in Haiti after his parents are killed. A blind woman and midwife, she is a highly respected and adored member of her village community. Like Dany, she sleep talks. After Dany moves to the U.S., Estina also informally adopts Claude, a young Haitian American man deported back to Haiti after killing his father. Estina dies during Dany’s visit back to Haiti, leading the villagers to believe that she “called” him back to see him before she passed.

Estina Estème Character Timeline in The Dew Breaker

The timeline below shows where the character Estina Estème appears in The Dew Breaker. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...that he might get appendicitis here and die. He is traveling to see his Aunt Estina. It has been a decade since he moved to New York, and 25 years since... (full context)

...is actually her father. He says he is on the way to visit his aunt, Estina Estème. Old Zo asks who Dany’s father was, then reveals that he knows about how... (full context)

Old Zo takes Dany to Estina. Dany recognizes her house as they approach. Although Estina is not in, there is a... (full context)

Estina takes Dany inside her house so they speak privately. For a number of years, Dany... (full context)

Dany tells Estina that he came back because he wanted to tell her that he has found the... (full context)

When Dany wakes up, Estina and Old Zo’s daughter, nicknamed Ti Famn (little woman) have breakfast waiting for him. He... (full context)

Claude comments that it’s “real big” that Dany has come back to see Estina, and that he hasn’t forgotten his family back in Haiti. He laments that he had... (full context)

...is actually an adult in her 20s, even though she looks about 12 years old. Estina explains that “his people say” that Claude killed his own father. That night, Dany dreams... (full context)

In the dream, Dany tells Estina that the man who murdered his parents (Papa) now has a barbershop in New York.... (full context)

...never get the answer of why Papa killed his parents. Dany suddenly wakes up, and Estina asks him if he was dreaming about his parents, saying that he was “calling their... (full context)

Ti Famn wails loud enough that everyone in the surrounding area learns of Estina’s death. Dany is crippled by sharp stomach pain. Local women mill around him, commenting on... (full context)

...helps Old Zo make the funeral arrangements, while Ti Famn and the other women prepare Estina’s body for burial. They dress her in a blue dress Dany sent her from New... (full context)

...ceremony where attendees share memories of the deceased. Many of those in attendance say that Estina helped birth them. Dany thinks of all the things he would say if he spoke,... (full context)

Dany wonders if it’s true that Estina somehow called him back, and if Papa isn’t actually his parents’ killer, but rather just... (full context)