Libertie

One evening after dinner, Libertie walks through the garden. Ella approaches her and confesses that she saw her father sexually abuse “every serving girl up and down this street, including Ti Me” (216). She told Emmanuel but he did not believe her, and her father beat her for mentioning his behavior. Emmanuel tried to save her from their father’s beatings by telling everyone that Ella was suffering from mental health issues. Ella now appreciates her brother’s actions because she has found a form of freedom in everyone believing that she is unwell. She believes that Libertie is lucky, as Emmanuel can do the same for her. Libertie disagrees with this interpretation of freedom and tells Emmanuel about the conversation as they lie in bed. He defends his father, saying that Bishop Chase’s behavior is “no different than what the slave masters used to do to our foremothers” (217). Libertie believes that Emmanuel’s efforts to build a new world are pointless if women are not equal to men: “[Y]ou have freedom to define yourself, and I do not have any” (218). She then leaves and sleeps in the cooking shed.

Later, Ti Me finds Libertie and reveals that Emmanuel and Ella are searching for her. She refuses to return to the house. Ti Me confirms Ella’s account of the sexual abuse but does not believe the world’s injustice is fixable. Libertie lies in the shed and listens to the world around her. She realizes that she loves Haiti as a country, even if the people within it do not love her.

After that night, Libertie remains in the shed alongside Ti Me. She tries to talk to Ti Me but worries that she is imposing herself in Ti Me’s living quarters. She begins to suspect that she is pregnant with twins as the physical changes to her body become more pronounced. As she helps Ti Me with the chores, she tries to avoid her husband and his family. Emmanuel tries to coax her back into the house by forcing Ella to apologize, but Libertie refuses. She argues with Emmanuel and explains that he has never truly seen her as an equal, despite his initial promises. He attributes her accusations of hypocrisy to her pregnancy, and Libertie refuses to leave the shed.

In one of their long conversations, Ti Me admits that she does not love Emmanuel or Ella, though she does care for them. She believes that no one can really change who they are, and that Libertie has been claimed by the goddess Erzulie and will remain restless until she dies. The only escape, Ti Me believes, is for Libertie to give herself over to Vodou spiritualism. However, Ti Me is certain that Libertie will not stay in Haiti forever.

Time passes and Libertie waits for a response from her mother as the locals gossip about her behavior. News arrives that a special performing group is coming to the island, and everyone has permission to attend. Libertie is initially determined to remain in the shed, but her resolve begins to fade. She accepts Emmanuel’s offer to listen to the performance from their bedroom window. 

Libertie and Emmanuel sit on the bed and strain their ears to hear the music. They talk together, and just as Libertie is about to yield to his promises of future change, she hears a familiar sound. Louisa and Experience’s voices drift in from the street, and Libertie rushes to the window. She insists that Emmanuel bring them to her. He agrees, and Libertie wonders whether he really does love her. Libertie warmly greets her old friends and tries to convince them to stay with her in Haiti.

Libertie sits with her friends as they eat dinner and listens to their account of the previous 11 months, during which they have performed throughout America and the Caribbean. Ella struggles to contain her criticisms, and Bishop Chase sends her from the dinner table. The dismissal forces Libertie to reflect on whether she can stay in their house. After dinner, Louisa jokes that Libertie has a comfortable life as a “lady of leisure” in a lavish house (234). Libertie responds that none of them quite have the lives they imagined back at college. Louisa mentions a meeting with Cathy at which they learned that Libertie has hardly written to her mother. She has brought a letter but criticizes Libertie for the lack of communication. Libertie says goodnight to her friends.

That night, Libertie agrees to sleep in the house. She undresses, and Emmanuel lays his head against her pregnant belly. When he falls asleep, Libertie reads her mother’s letter. Cathy admits to her sadness at her daughter’s absence and her regretful belief that she failed as a mother. She describes attending a particularly difficult childbirth. The baby and mother survived, and the experience made Cathy think about her absent daughter.

Libertie writes a response and gives it to Louisa and Experience to deliver. The performers leave the next day, and Libertie lacks the strength to return to the shed. She gives birth to her children in the bedroom she shares with Emmanuel. He is at her side throughout, and the experience helps her to forgive him. She wishes that her mother were with her as her twins are born, and she remembers the letter she sent to her explaining that she is still coming to terms with her own identity.

Libertie decides to return to America as soon as she is well enough. Though she feels at home in Haiti, she cannot stay. Libertie writes another letter, this time to Emmanuel. She explains that though she loves him, she cannot stay “in a house that is built on silences” (242). She wants him to follow her, as she believes that he is strong enough to abandon his ambitions in the name of love. She will wait for him “in the new world” (243).