Mariette Character Analysis in The Girl Who Smiled Beads

Mariette is Claire and Rob’s first child and Freddy and Michele’s sister. She is born at Rob’s family’s house in Uvira, Zaire, but Clemantine and Claire become refugees again shortly after her birth. While Claire spends her time trying to make money however she can, Clemantine cares for Mariette. Clemantine adores Mariette and is extremely protective of her. Caring for Mariette gives Clemantine a sense of purpose. Mariette is almost four by the time Clemantine and Claire immigrate to the United States.

Mariette Quotes in The Girl Who Smiled Beads

The The Girl Who Smiled Beads quotes below are all either spoken by Mariette or refer to Mariette . 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:

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My hustle was getting through the day. How to claim dignity. How to keep the kids clean […] How to “shine” the house, which was really just dousing the floor with petrol to keep out the bugs. How to wash my loud, floral, short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt, which I loved and which I wore with my jean skirt, tied at the waist. How to make the kids cute, and thus make them lovable and seen.

Related Characters: Clemantine Wamariya (speaker), Mariette , Freddy

Page Number and Citation: 196

Explanation and Analysis: