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Chapter 37
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 grows older as she waits for a reply to the note she gave to Father Romain. In May 1961, Trujillo is killed, which prompts a celebration in Haiti. Seeing the celebration, Amabelle comments that she has not witnessed Haitians “remembering” the slaughter since her time in the crowd waiting for the justice of the peace. She says it is a celebration of both the “living and the dead.”
Amabelle reveals that the celebration, a means of remembering Haitians’ suffering, is the first communal attempt at preserving the past. This revelation demonstrates that despite memory’s power to safeguard prior experiences, memory is not infallible. Moreover, the celebration illustrates that there are different ways to remember: it can happen not only through sharing stories, but also through reaffirming communal traditions. The celebration is also a clear sign of hope. It honors the past and celebrates the living, revealing how grief over the dead and optimism for the future can be intertwined.
Themes
Amabelle discusses the conditions of her life since returning to Haiti: she lives with Yves and Man Rapadou, wakes up at the same time every day, and spends her days sewing. Although there are periods when she shuts herself in her room for months at a time, as she is plagued by old injuries, she notes that there is rarely any break from her daily routine of sewing and having “the same dreams every night.”
Amabelle has come to view Man Rapadou and Yves’s house as her home, as she has made a routine for herself there. She makes no mention of the Dominican Republic, indicating that her past sense of belonging there has disappeared. Amabelle’s injuries, which still trouble her, are symbolic of her traumas: her physical and emotional wounds are still so powerful that they sometimes force her to isolate herself. The fact that she has not healed from these injuries and traumas is further proven by the state of her dreams. She still has repetitive fantasies that allow her to live a monotonous, though seemingly unfulfilling, life.
Themes
As Amabelle watches the celebrations of Trujillo’s death, she sees Yves, who does not approve of the festivities. She believes that Yves feels as if the celebration is akin to “dancing on the graves” of the slaughter’s victims. Amabelle notes that there truly are no graves, nor any markers for the victims’ legacy. She claims the dancing is innocuous, as it is a familiar dance to Haitian culture; Haiti is used to celebrating the death of a tyrant.
Amabelle comments that the victims of the massacre have no physical signs by which to mark their existence. In lieu of these signs, then, the celebration acts as a type of memory. Through dancing, the Haitian community memorializes its dead, celebrating their legacy and refusing to forget their passing.
Themes
Amabelle realizes the dancing is a way of celebrating survival, even while the absence of the dead haunts the dancers. She then sees Father Romain in the celebrating crowd and realizes he has recovered. She joins the group around him, and others ask if he plans to return to the Dominican Republic. He says he will return to help the Haitians that still remain. He then adds that he is no longer a priest, as prayers could not heal him after the slaughter.
The dance further reinforces Amabelle’s realization that grief and hope are intertwined. Although the dance comes from a sense of hope, it nevertheless draws attention to the dead, who are missing and cannot dance. Furthermore, Father Romain has recovered from his amnesia. His recovery is a symbolic representation of how memory overcomes even the most oppressive of forces, such as prejudice and violence. At the same time, however, Father Romain’s memories have also transformed him in a less positive way; remembering the trauma he experienced now makes it impossible for him to maintain his former religious life.
Themes
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