Comparison of " Alias Grace", "Breath, Eyes, Memory" and "Solace of the Road"
Atwood’s, Danticat’s and Dowd’s transitions of women’s identities due to the loss of their parents
The loss of a parent develops the child’s identity. Grace in “Alias Grace” by Margaret Atwood, Sophie in “Breathe, Eyes, Memory” by Edwidge Danticat, and Holly in “Solace of the Road” by Siobhan Dowd, all demonstrate how mothers impact their daughters when they are no longer a part of their lives. Through changes of physical appearances, various life decisions and rapports with men, Grace, Sophie and Holly show how they have dealt with their mothers leaving them. Be it death or desertion, they have had substantial effects on their children’s personality traits.
In the early stages of her adolescents, Grace’s mom dies and leaves her to take care of her eight siblings and cope with the abusive comportment of her alcoholic father. In taking on the role as the new woman of the household, she literally gets into character by keeping her mothers shawl as a keepsake, “I left her in the same clothes she had on, except for the shoes. I kept back the shoes, and her shawl as well, which she would have no need of”(Atwood 139). Grace demonstrates her maturity in the situation by accepting her mother’s death and still managing to handle it in a practical manner by preserving some of her belongings. However, after Mary Whitney who acted as a mother figure for a portion of her life dies, Grace took on her own identity. Instead of keeping her belongings, she rids herself of them, “I sold her box, which was of good quality, and also her best dress, to Jeremiah the peddler, who came around again just after her death; and I also sold him the gold ring which she kept hidden under the floor”(Atwood 229). Grace’s mother’s death compels Grace to wear her clothing and to take on her role whereas Mary’s death allowed her to have freedom and become her own woman. A similar situation occurs with Sophie from Edwidge Danticat’s “Breath, Eyes, Memory”.
Sophie’s mother left her with her Aunt
The loss of a parent develops the child’s identity. Grace in “Alias Grace” by Margaret Atwood, Sophie in “Breathe, Eyes, Memory” by Edwidge Danticat, and Holly in “Solace of the Road” by Siobhan Dowd, all demonstrate how mothers impact their daughters when they are no longer a part of their lives. Through changes of physical appearances, various life decisions and rapports with men, Grace, Sophie and Holly show how they have dealt with their mothers leaving them. Be it death or desertion, they have had substantial effects on their children’s personality traits.
In the early stages of her adolescents, Grace’s mom dies and leaves her to take care of her eight siblings and cope with the abusive comportment of her alcoholic father. In taking on the role as the new woman of the household, she literally gets into character by keeping her mothers shawl as a keepsake, “I left her in the same clothes she had on, except for the shoes. I kept back the shoes, and her shawl as well, which she would have no need of”(Atwood 139). Grace demonstrates her maturity in the situation by accepting her mother’s death and still managing to handle it in a practical manner by preserving some of her belongings. However, after Mary Whitney who acted as a mother figure for a portion of her life dies, Grace took on her own identity. Instead of keeping her belongings, she rids herself of them, “I sold her box, which was of good quality, and also her best dress, to Jeremiah the peddler, who came around again just after her death; and I also sold him the gold ring which she kept hidden under the floor”(Atwood 229). Grace’s mother’s death compels Grace to wear her clothing and to take on her role whereas Mary’s death allowed her to have freedom and become her own woman. A similar situation occurs with Sophie from Edwidge Danticat’s “Breath, Eyes, Memory”.
Sophie’s mother left her with her Aunt