Man/Husband/Eric Character Analysis in The Dew Breaker

Eric is first introduced as an unnamed man/husband in the story “Seven.” Although he is the main character in the story, neither he nor his wife are ever named. He is a Haitian immigrant to the U.S. who lives in Brooklyn and who is separated from his wife for seven years by the American immigration system. He has two jobs, one as a day janitor and one as a night janitor at Medgar Evers College, and this detail alerts the reader to the fact that he is Eric, Nadine’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her aborted child. Indeed, in “Seven” Danticat notes that Eric had several affairs with other women while separated from his wife, but that none of these meant much to him. However, in “Water Child,” he calls Nadine every month after they break up, leaving a short but kind message on her answering machine. Eric is a hard-working man who is overjoyed when he is finally reunited with his wife. However, he becomes increasingly despondent over the seemingly irreparable damage wreaked by the seven years they spent apart.

Man/Husband/Eric Character Timeline in The Dew Breaker

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

It has been seven years since the man last saw his wife. He marks the passing of time in sevens; he is now... (full context)

After speaking to the landlady, the man goes to talk to Michel and Dany, indicating that he wants to make sure his... (full context)

The man works two jobs; he is a night janitor at Medgar Evers College and a day... (full context)

The customs officials search the woman’s suitcase. She had been advised to gift-wrap everything so it wouldn’t be opened by customs,... (full context)

Driving them home, the man speeds, almost crashing the car. His wife updates him on the wellbeing of their family... (full context)

The man has bought a range of fruit juices for his wife, but she tells him she... (full context)

Before the man leaves for work the next day, he gives his wife a set of keys and... (full context)

The woman turns on the radio to the Creole-language station her husband showed her. The callers are... (full context)

Once they are alone again, the man tells his wife that he works two jobs in part to distract himself from missing... (full context)

The woman spends the rest of the week inside the apartment, worried about getting lost if she... (full context)

The woman wants to tell her husband about the neighbor and the long affair they had, knowing... (full context)

One day, the man comes home from work and finds his wife sitting on his bed, staring at the... (full context)

...no particular destination in mind. They get off at Prospect Park and walk around. The woman never expected somewhere like that to exist in New York. The man notices that at... (full context)

On the bus home the man sits across from his wife so he can look at her. She is thinking about... (full context)

Nadine has a voicemail from her ex-boyfriend Eric, the father of her “nearly born child.” He speaks English with a strong Haitian accent,... (full context)

...a basenji, a breed of dog that doesn’t bark. At home that night, Nadine calls Eric, who is probably at home resting before going to his second job as a night... (full context)

...to term, might have been born that day. Then she thinks about her parents and Eric, and then of her own reflection in the elevator doors, which she considers “unrecognizable.” (full context)