Odette Character Analysis in The Farming of Bones

Odette is a Haitian refugee who tries to escape the Dominican Republic alongside Amabelle and a group of other evacuees. Her lover, Wilner, is also trying to escape the violence. Amabelle, Odette, Yves, and Wilner attempt to cross a river when Wilner is suddenly shot by a Dominican soldier. Amabelle, who is nervous that Odette will reveal their location and get them both killed, holds her hand over Odette’s mouth and accidentally suffocates her in the river. Odette’s deathand Amabelle’s abiding sense of guiltadds to her profound feelings of grief and loss. Odette’s accidental murder contributes to Amabelle’s unhealthy coping mechanisms after she arrives in Haiti. In order to avoid her grief and guilt, Amabelle initially loses herself in fantasies and the empty routines of a simpler life.

Odette Character Timeline in The Farming of Bones

The timeline below shows where the character Odette appears in The Farming of Bones. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The group unites, and Yves asks where they are from. Two members of the group, Odette and her partner Wilner, claim they are from the “Yanki” mills on the other side... (full context)

...that they all look similar; they look like refugees who have made a hasty escape. Odette and Wilner split off to investigate the river, and Amabelle blends into the crowd. She... (full context)

Odette and Wilner reappear, and they take Amabelle and Yves to a safe house owned by... (full context)

...house and moves towards the river. Amabelle begins to ask about Mimi and Sebastien, but Odette misinterprets her words and believes she is asking about Tibon. They arrive at the riverbank,... (full context)

The group begins to ford the river. Amabelle separates herself from Odette, claiming that she does not want to be responsible for another person’s life; she would... (full context)

...group continues to travel through the river, soldiers spot Wilner and shoot him. Amabelle seals Odette’s mouth with her hand to keep her from making noise; when Odette struggles against her,... (full context)

Once they are safely on land, Odette says “pesi,” the Haitian Creole pronunciation of the word “parsley,” before passing away. This prompts... (full context)

...are found by a doctor and priest; they are taken to a nearby camp, and Odette’s body is taken from Yves’s arms. Along the side of the road, Amabelle sees corpses... (full context)

Amabelle looks at Odette’s body one last time, and thinks that death was not a surprise to Odette. Rather,... (full context)

...Amabelle tries to tell her that she does not want to die, and thinks that Odette and Wilner have “already died for [her].” The nun asks where her caretaker has gone,... (full context)

...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. (full context)

...to herself that she can pretend, momentarily, that the river’s victimsher mother and father, and Odettedied natural deaths. She admits that she used to visit the river in hopes that it... (full context)