The narrative of disempowerment is woven extensively throughout Edwidge Danticat's postcolonial novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory. Placing great emphasis on the politics of the domestic sphere and the stories told between women, the novel spans the childhood and young adulthood of Edwidge's main protagonist, Sophie Caco, highlighting the ways in which Sophie experiences social and cultural limitations. What is perhaps most striking throughout the text are the ways in which Sophie is presented with myriad opportunities only to be constantly limited in her capacity for true change. Sophie's changing family relationships, with both her mother and husband, in particular highlight this illusion of opportunity. Her unsuccessful movement through these relationships conveys the ways in which cultural norms trap Sophie, as marriage – something commonly described as an idealized and cherished opportunity – instead exacerbates Sophie's sexual phobia, edifying her disillusionment with her body and, ultimately, of his identity. In Breath, Eyes, Memory Danticat portrays the illusion of opportunity through the construction of Sophie's parallel relationships with both Joseph and Martine in order to explain her disempowerment and entrapment within the constructs of ideal Haitian femininity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIn her construction of what at first glance appears to be an ideal opportunistic narrative, Danticat highlights Sophie's infatuation with Joseph, particularly how it stems from her desire to escape life with her mother. In Sophie's first encounters with Joseph, he repeatedly compliments her, declaring, "you are such a beautiful woman" (Danticat 75), only to have Sophie respond, "Do you think I am a woman? You are the first person who she called it that” (Danticat 75). This repetition of “woman” denotes a change in how Sophie is perceived: no longer a child but a woman. Therefore, in this moment she is given the opportunity to move beyond her status as a young girl and continue into adulthood, something traditionally perceived as liberating. Sophie's echoing of the term also illustrates her infatuation with the statement, as it allows her to see herself as something she has never been before. referred to earlier, constructing a new ideal for her maturity. By outlining her potential to transition from girl to woman, Joseph offers Sophie the opportunity and aspiration to occupy a more mature title of grown womanhood and adulthood in how she is perceived she embodies the opportunity Sophie sees in being with Joseph, especially when compared to the limiting relationship she maintains with her mother. Furthermore, the use of the wording “before” also helps in constructing an opportunistic statement. . By using this diction, Danticat is able to build a feeling of newness and change, highlighting the opportunity that Sophie sees in a relationship with Joseph. The scene of opportunity is also highlighted through Danticat's use of bright imagery, as he writes, "we watched the morning sky lighten" (Danticat 75). The use of the personal pronoun “we” creates a sense of unity between Sophie and Joseph, while the image of an illuminated sky describes a scene of great opportunity to construct a traditionally opportunistic narrative. Therefore, Sophie's initial interactions with Joseph follow the rhetoric of a traditional opportunistic narrative to express her desire to establish a new relationship. However, Danticat begins todeconstruct this narrative of opportunity through the parallels it draws between Joseph and Sophie's mother Martine. Through the similarities of these characters, the reader begins to see the progression of Sophie's loss of power as well as her disillusionment with her relationships. When speaking to her grandmother, Sophie's description of her relationship with Joseph consistently parallels that with her mother, conflating intimacy with her husband with the practice of testing her mother. The need to escape from her husband is what denotes the failed opportunity narrative, as Sophie proclaims that leaving her husband “is just a short vacation” (Danticat 122). The image of a vacation denotes her desire for isolation and escape: a stark dichotomy from the previous closeness she first felt with Joseph. Furthermore, Danticat's use of negative diction to portray the failure of marriage highlights the disintegration of opportunities. While her marriage to Joseph was initially portrayed as ideal and liberating, Sophie now faces the restrictions and problems of her “marital duties” (Danticat 122). The portrayal of these "duties" highlights Sophie's disdain for her role as a wife – and particularly as a sexual partner – as this harsh portrayal denotes feelings of responsibility and obligation rather than love. Furthermore, Sophie's description of the “night” (Danticat 122) with Joseph is full of dark and frightening images. Describing to her grandmother how she “can't perform” and her “problems with the night,” (Danticat 122) she proclaims “It's very painful for me…I have no desire. I feel like it's an evil thing to do” (Danticat 122). These projections of pain act as a physical limitation on Sophie's opportunities, as she is held back by her husband and, more significantly, by her own body. These restrictions on her freedom convey that while the marriage seemed opportunistic, Sophie was given only an illusion, as her marriage, like her mother's previous trials, brought her ample pain and suffering. The image of Sophie's sexuality as something that is inherently "evil" (Danticat 122) allows for the continuity of social ideals - particularly those surrounding femininity - conveyed by the tests. Describing and defining female worth and honor as concepts dependent on purity, Sophie is limited even within the sexuality of her own marriage by the general cultural limitations imposed on her through testing, a practice to which she was subjected long before that. to meet her husband. Perhaps what is most striking about Danticat's destruction of Sophie's perceived opportunity is the way it creates continuity between its protagonist's situations with both her husband and her mother. As Sophie tirelessly talks to her grandmother about the strains of her marriage and resulting sexual obligations, she is immediately followed up with a testing question. After stating the evils she associates with sex, her grandmother asks her, “Your mother? Has he ever tested you?” (Danticat 123). By immediately following a discussion of sex and intimacy with an investigation of experimentation, Danticat demonstrates the ways in which this construct is so deeply intertwined with the notion of female sexuality and femininity. The blending of present and past narratives through this question further demonstrates Sophie's entrapment in the circumstances of these social norms. Her grandmother asks the question about past tests as if they were intrinsically related to her current sexual behaviors, demonstrating the way these standards rather restrictive and disempowering arise from both time and relationships Sophie's relationships with both Joseph and Martine are further.