Libertie

Libertie remains reluctant to engage with Emmanuel sexually. At the moment that he finally convinces her to touch him, Ella knocks on the door. Libertie answers in a rush and accidently insults Ella. Emmanuel tells Libertie not to worry, but she cannot help but think that Ella hates her. The next day, she wakes up alone in a seemingly empty house. After watching children sing in the courtyard, she finds Emmanuel and Ella in a distant room. Emmanuel plans to visit his mentor, Monsieur Colon, and insists that Libertie accompany Ti Me and Ella to the market.

The market is full of women, many of whom have skin as dark or darker than Libertie’s. She tries to ask questions about the thriving, boisterous, chaotic market, but Ella cuts off Ti Me and speaks disparagingly about the market-goers. She blames the Haitian women and their unchaste behavior for the country’s lack of success. Libertie studies Ella in the market, wondering how she can love Emmanuel so much but detest his sister at the same time. As Ti Me argues and laughs with the vendors, Ella translates for Libertie and explains that “no one here respects you if you’re soft” (183). While Ella shares her brother’s belief that Haiti is the future for Black people, she believes that the country won’t succeed without education and hard work. However, she does not believe that the current population is willing to apply itself in such a fashion. When the time to pay comes, Ella hands Libertie a purse filled with coins and the keys to the house she is now the mistress of. Libertie accepts them.

Emmanuel is delighted that Ella entrusted Libertie with the purse and the keys. He leaves early the next morning, spending most days on an endless round of visits to neighbors, friends, and colleagues. Libertie is left with her husband’s family. They again visit the market, and in the afternoon, the town’s American women visit the house. They are light-skinned women who sit and listen to Ella complain about the Haitians. They all seem to have a deluded idea of what America is now like, imagining it as a fair and just society. When Libertie speaks of her experiences of racism in America, they dismiss her words. Some of the women—those with the darkest skin—also meet privately with Bishop Chase. Ella resents this and speaks viciously about anyone who meets with her father. Bishop Chase avoids the women of the house and never speaks to Libertie. When speaking to Emmanuel, however, she embraces her new identity as Madame Chase. 

Libertie receives a letter from her mother. Cathy speaks plainly and explains that she misses her daughter. She likens the loss to the death of her husband. The grief she felt then inspired her political awakening, leading her to help escaped slaves to freedom. At the same time, she feared that she might lose her newborn daughter, so she tried to establish an emotional distance between them. Though she loves Libertie more than anything, Cathy admits that she feels she has failed her daughter. The letter overwhelms Libertie with emotion. Though she wants to respond, she does not know how to tell her mother about her negative experiences in Haiti. That night, she asks Emmanuel to take her away from his father’s house.

Emmanuel and Libertie ride a horse up a mountain. As they ride, she reflects on her loneliness. They leave the horse tied to a tree and climb the final part of the mountain on foot. Emmanuel shows her the plants he studied as a younger man. The walk to the top is difficult, but he assures Libertie that she will get used to it. Libertie quietly resents her husband for creating a version of her in his head that she might not want—or be able—to become. She does not trust Emmanuel’s admiration, which is just as much of a burden as her mother’s scrutiny.

Near the top of the mountain is a pool of water. Emmanuel tries to teach Libertie to swim. She resents his teaching methods but follows his instructions in the hope that she can become the woman he believes she is. They return to the pool every Sunday after enduring Bishop Chase’s church services. Even in the congregation, Libertie notices the divisions between the light-skinned African Americans and the dark-skinned Haitians. Libertie finds the services, which seem directed at her role as Emmanuel’s wife, flat and lifeless.

Libertie receives another letter from her mother, who has learned about her failure at college. She feels angry and betrayed. The letter hurts Libertie, but she cannot bring herself to explain the situation to Emmanuel. Her acrimonious relationship with Ella continues to fester. She confronts Ella, who tells her the story of a bad year that she has now embroidered into a jacket. The year involved the family watching the public execution of criminals—a punishment that Emmanuel still regards as a tragedy. When Libertie asks him about the event, he reveals that Ella feels a righteous, religious indignation that other people regard as mental illness. Emmanuel still believes that his sister can be saved, or at least treated, but Libertie is worried that she will become a target of Ella’s anger. Emmanuel remembers a time when Ti Me tried to treat Ella’s problems with local spiritualism known as Vodoun. Ella refused to comply with the ceremonial sacrifice, but Emmanuel did as he was told and was inspired by the ceremony, dedicating his life to “building a new world” (201).