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Chapter 35
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Farming of Bones, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Power of Memory
Dreams vs. Reality
Language and Identity
Death, Grief, and Hope
Home, Family, and Belonging
Summary
Analysis
Amabelle writes a letter to give to Father Romain that asks about Sebastien and Mimi’s whereabouts. The next day, she goes to visit Father Romain at the border. She gets dropped off in the field that housed the camp of survivors; thinking of Odette and the bodies of the dead and wounded, Amabelle faints momentarily.
Amabelle’s fainting spell is a sign of how powerful the idea of death is to her. Death physically overwhelms her: when she confronts the site of it, she passes out. Despite this, Amabelle’s letter indicates that she is slowly coming to terms with Sebastien and Mimi’s disappearance. Although she is not yet able to completely confront death—as seen by her fainting episode—she is still attempting to come to terms with the idea of her loved ones’ passing.
Themes
Amabelle meets a young woman outside a nearby shack and asks for Father Romain. The woman tells Amabelle not to be upset if he has forgotten her. Amabelle sees the priest and realizes he no longer seems to recognize anything; the woman tells her to speak up, as the priest’s mind “wanders.” Amabelle asks him if he recognizes her, and he says he does not. She then asks him if he encountered Sebastien or Mimi while he was in prison. He tells her he met many people, but does not give names.
In the Dominican Republic, Father Romain preached about the importance of memory. He was quick to remember Haitian traditions, community members, and history. But ironically, the character known for his memory is now the one whose memory is the most addled. The priest’s failing memory provides a warning: recollection is not always perfect, and even the most ardent archivist can fail to preserve the past. In some ways, Father Romain’s commitment to remembering Haiti may even have caused him to lose his memory, since his efforts to help others led to the trauma he experienced.
Themes
Father Romain then begins to talk about the Dominican Republic, and says that it is the “proudest birthright” he can give to them. The woman explains that he was once forced to say these things and now repeats them. Father Romain discusses how the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic speaks two languages, and how its people have two motherlands. He asks if anyone enjoys having their own home swamped by “visitors,” especially when the visitors are so numerous that they replace the household’s children.
Father Romain’s memory of Haiti is overtaken by memories of the Dominican Republic’s propaganda. In this way, the priest’s recollection reinforces the tension between Dominican and Haitian identity: both of them cannot coexist peacefully, and one culture often overpowers the other. The priest explicitly mentions that the two countries have two languages, reaffirming that language is an important way of dividing cultures.
Themes
Father Romain continues talking, and wonders how the island can produce two radically different cultures. He claims that “we, as Dominicans,” must have unique customs and traditions; otherwise, Dominicans will become Haitians, and their blood will be “tainted.” The woman explains that the priest sometimes remembers everything, including his torture; other times, however, he forgets everything.
The priest’s memory continues to demonstrate how Dominican and Haitian cultures are at odds. He repeats Dominican propaganda as he has forgotten his Haitian heritage, having been tortured into allowing Dominican culture to overpower his Haitian roots. The propaganda explicitly mentions that allowing the two cultures to mix would lead to something undesirable. This proves that the Dominican Republic deliberately maintains cultural borders to separate society.
Themes
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Amabelle leaves Father Romain and the woman, and tells them to hold on to her note. She cannot bear to visit the river, and instead dreams of disappearing from the world and spending her life indoors; she imagines talking to no one, and having no one try to communicate with her. She says she desires a life where every day is the same as the one before, and everything stays the same.
The contrast between Amabelle’s comforting dreams and her fears of the river illustrate the long-standing tension between reality and fantasy in her life. Amabelle has often avoided reality by escaping into dreams. Now, she is physically unable to confront the river, a symbol of her inability to accept and understand her trauma. Instead, she dreams of monotony, a kind of extreme repetition that would help her evade her unknown future.
Themes
Amabelle tells Yves that she has visited the priest, and he tells her that he had already spoken with Father Romain. She asks why he did not tell her about his visit, and he goes to bed in a rage. Amabelle thinks that Yves, like Sebastien, only lives to work; she believes that all he can do is “plant and sow to avoid the dead season.”
Ironically, Amabelle relies on dreams as a coping mechanism while condemning that same behavior in Yves. Yves fantasizes about creating a prosperous farm; the work he does to attain this dream distracts him from thinking about all the deaths he has witnessed. Both Amabelle and Yves are avoiding “the dead season”—a symbol of their grief—through fantasies. Although Amabelle recognizes this coping mechanism in others, she is not yet able to give it up herself.
Themes
