West Indian parents like to have dreams about their children becoming doctors, lawyers or reputable persons in society. Parents tend to be harder on their daughters than on their sons when it comes to relationships. Parents want to see their daughters in relationships with someone of good stature and in a position to provide for their daughters adequately.

Martine secretly spies on Sophie and find her secrets without Sophie’s knowledge; that’s what parents do. Martine knew about Sophie’s love secrets before Sophie wanted to talk or give clues about her relationship that is brewing with Joseph. Martine, Sophie’s mother would do the Haitian test on Sophie to find out if she was sexually active; despite Sophie was an adult. The test seems to be a method Haitian mothers use to prevent their daughters from having sex until the time is right (allegedly). Sophie became rebellious and wanted to be with Joseph whom she desired. So, one night after the test, while Sophie’s mother was asleep, Sophie went to see Joseph at his house and demanded to get married. Sophie’s action shows how quickly a child can change from being appreciative and being considerate towards a parent to taking drastic action to fulfill their own desire.

I have seeing traits that love was fundamental to women in old literature from the time of slavery and soon after. Mary Prince’s and Tituba’s novels gave strong indication of how sex was important. Those novels also show the extent women would go to get their sex, and here again, a young girl from Haiti (Sophie) that move to live with her mother in America is giving strength to my suspicion although her story is not related to slavery.