42 pages 1 hour read

Edwidge Danticat

The Farming Of Bones

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1998

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Chapters 40-41Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 40 Summary

Amabelle repeats Sebastien’s name over and over again, invoking his memory. She imagines him caring for her beneath the waterfall where they first made love. 

Chapter 41 Summary

Amabelle crosses secretly back over the border and into the Dominican Republic, paying someone to hide her in their Jeep. When she gets back to the Dominican Republic, she barely recognizes the place she once lived. After going to several incorrect addresses, she finds the place where Señora Valencia now lives. After some trouble being let in, she enters a beautiful, polished home filled with pictures of Rosalinda growing up. At first, Señora Valencia does not recognize Amabelle, saying that she was told by many that Amabelle was dead. Amabelle reveals enough intimate details about herself to convince her, and Señora Valencia then explains that she hid several Haitians during the massacre, always wishing they could have been Amabelle. They discuss Señor Pico’s role in the massacre, which Señora Valencia writes off as him simply doing his duty. Señora Valencia then helps Amabelle find a nearby waterfall, but it’s never made clear if this is the waterfall she went to with Sebastien. Amabelle then tells Señora Valencia she has to leave. Señora Valencia begs her to stay the night or come back but Amabelle will promise neither.