Between the pool and the gardenias

Main characters

Marie: based on the description, she is the child of Josephine. Her husband cheated on her and then abandoned her. She also had a miscarriage.

Rose: a dead baby who was brought home by Marie.

Dominican pool cleaner: a pool cleaner who works for the same household with Marie. He slept with Marie once, but then never talked to her again. He then found out about Rose and called the police because he thought Marie was a witch.



Plot

 Marie is attracted by the dead baby on the street because the baby reminds her of her own baby, who was dead due to miscarriage. Therefore, Marie brings the baby back to her house (she works for a household as a maid), and she names the baby Rose and tells her about her past. She tells Rose about how her husband cheated on her and abandoned her, and also she slept with a Dominican pool cleaner who comes to clean the pool frequently. However, because the baby is dead, there is a sensitive smell from Rose, which is described by Marie as the intestine her uncle used to sell. So Marie stole some perfume from her master to cover the smell. But eventually, Marie decides to throw the baby away. When Marie is going to throw the baby away, the pool cleaner sees her and tells her that he already called the police because he thinks Marie is a witch and trying to do some kind of rite.



My response

 as usual, Edwidge Danticat presents a depressing tone throughout the story. The act of picking up a dead baby shows her desperation of having a baby and her twisted characteristics. The tragic life of Marie is also shown when the Dominican pool cleaner never talks to Marie again after they slept, which shows how insignificant Marie is to men. The last part of the story (the pool cleaner tells Marie he called the police) represents the end of Marie's life. The central themes presented by Edwidge include prejudice, love, misunderstanding, and tragedy













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