Previous
Kongo
Man Rapadou is Yves’s mother, and acts as a caretaker and surrogate family member to Amabelle when she returns to Haiti. As Amabelle heals from her traumatic escape, Man Rapadou teaches Amabelle multiple lessons about grief, death, and the deceptive nature of dreams. For example, she warns Amabelle that there is no cure for death, and advises her against prioritizing her dreams over her life; in this way, Man Rapadou prompts Amabelle to reconsider her coping mechanisms. Although Amabelle initially lost herself in fantasies of an impossible future with Sebastien, she eventually discards these dreams and realizes she must appreciate her survival. Additionally, Man Rapadou reveals that she poisoned her husband because he was planning to spy on his fellow Haitians in return for money. Man Rapadou’s behavior illustrates how loyalty to one’s culture, country, and homeland can sometimes outweigh love or marital devotion.
Man Rapadou Quotes in The Farming of Bones
The The Farming of Bones quotes below are all either spoken by Man Rapadou or refer to Man Rapadou. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 32
Quotes
“You call me Man Rapadou,” she said. “I know your story.”
Which story of mine did she know? Which story was she told?
“Everything you knew before this slaughter is lost,” she said. Perhaps she was encouraging me to […] forsake Sebastien, even my memories of him, those images of him that would float through my head repeatedly, like brief glimpses of the same dream.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 39
Quotes
“Old age is not meant to be survived alone,” Man Rapadou said, her voice trailing with her own hidden thoughts. “Death should come gently, slowly, like a man’s hand approaching your body […] From time to time, life takes you by surprise. You sit in your lakou eating mangoes. You let the mango seeds fall where they may, and one day you wake up and there’s a mango tree in your yard.”
I knew she meant this as a compliment to me, a kind word for my sudden arrival at her house some years before.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Farming of Bones LitChart as a printable PDF.
Man Rapadou Quotes in The Farming of Bones
The The Farming of Bones quotes below are all either spoken by Man Rapadou or refer to Man Rapadou. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 32
Quotes
“You call me Man Rapadou,” she said. “I know your story.”
Which story of mine did she know? Which story was she told?
“Everything you knew before this slaughter is lost,” she said. Perhaps she was encouraging me to […] forsake Sebastien, even my memories of him, those images of him that would float through my head repeatedly, like brief glimpses of the same dream.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 39
Quotes
“Old age is not meant to be survived alone,” Man Rapadou said, her voice trailing with her own hidden thoughts. “Death should come gently, slowly, like a man’s hand approaching your body […] From time to time, life takes you by surprise. You sit in your lakou eating mangoes. You let the mango seeds fall where they may, and one day you wake up and there’s a mango tree in your yard.”
I knew she meant this as a compliment to me, a kind word for my sudden arrival at her house some years before.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
