Sorrow In Edwidge Danticat's 'Claire Of The Sea Light'
The song verses found in the last chapter of Edwidge Danticat’s novel Claire of the Sea Light portray the sea as a symbol of sorrow, yet as necessary. The first verse outright links the sea with sorrow; However, Claire’s response to it highlights both the good and the bad about the sea. As Nosias and Gaelle pull Max Junior out of the water as Claire makes up the second verse, they also pull him away from the despair and sorrow that cause him to attempt suicide. The verses therefore expose the sea as symbolic of sorrow.
The first verse and Claire’s thoughts on it reveal the good and the bad of the sea. The verse states that “Lasiren, The Whale, / My hat fell into the sea” (219). This outright links the sea with sorrow because Claire reflects
that “although the melody was cheerful, the word were sad” immediately after thinking about this verse (219). Both the song and the sea bring together sadness and happiness. Claire relates the sea to loss in stating that “you never got back things that fell into the sea” (219-220). She fears the sea, and sometimes “she wished the sea would disappear,” just as she wishes sorrow and loss would no longer exist (220). However, “she would miss its ever-changing sounds . . . the sea’s colors . . . [and] smelling the sea,” thus recognizing the importance of the sea in her life (220). Without the sea, “there might be no fish to eat;” this in turn would cause the people to starve (220). Therefore, without loss and sorrow, the people starve and lose out in other areas.
Danticat uses the second verse to show further show the sea as a symbol of sorrow. Claire makes up the verse as she sees her father and Gaelle pull Max Junior out of the water:
She had to go back She had to go home
To see the man
Who’d crawled half dead
Out of the sea (238).
Like many of the other characters, Max Junior faces heart-wrenching loss over the course of the novel. The news of Bernard’s death “had shattered him,” and struggles with his son’s rejection, wondering if “the second worst [possible case of unrequited love was] being rejected by your child” (112, 199). In combination with these issues, Max Junior also thinks “that everyone could and should despise him, there was no question, and they had good reason,” and tries to escape by “slipping into the water” (196, 197). Nosias and Gaelle pull him out of the water, saving his life and symbolically pulling him out of the despair that nearly ends his life. Nosias and Gaelle each have their “own sorrows [that] could have nearly drowned them,” but they refuse to give up like Max Junior and instead “breath him back to life” and breathe hope back into him (238). Like Max Junior and many other people living in Ville Rose, Gaelle and Nosias have their own sorrows and have experienced loss, such as the loss of a spouse. However, they, like many others, have persevered and now help Max Junior to do the same. Therefore, Danticat likens the sea to sorrow by placing this verse as Gaelle and Nosias pull Max Junior out of the water and away from his own sorrows. Through these verses, Danticat likens the sea to sorrow and loss. Claire associates the sea with sorrow and loss, yet recognizes that it is necessary for human survival. Similarly, Nosias and Gaelle symbolically pull Max Junior out of his overwhelming despair. By placing these verses at Claire’s reflection and the plot point of Max Junior’s attempt and failure at suicide, Danitcat clearly relates the sea to the sorrow and despair of humanity.
The first verse and Claire’s thoughts on it reveal the good and the bad of the sea. The verse states that “Lasiren, The Whale, / My hat fell into the sea” (219). This outright links the sea with sorrow because Claire reflects
that “although the melody was cheerful, the word were sad” immediately after thinking about this verse (219). Both the song and the sea bring together sadness and happiness. Claire relates the sea to loss in stating that “you never got back things that fell into the sea” (219-220). She fears the sea, and sometimes “she wished the sea would disappear,” just as she wishes sorrow and loss would no longer exist (220). However, “she would miss its ever-changing sounds . . . the sea’s colors . . . [and] smelling the sea,” thus recognizing the importance of the sea in her life (220). Without the sea, “there might be no fish to eat;” this in turn would cause the people to starve (220). Therefore, without loss and sorrow, the people starve and lose out in other areas.
Danticat uses the second verse to show further show the sea as a symbol of sorrow. Claire makes up the verse as she sees her father and Gaelle pull Max Junior out of the water:
She had to go back She had to go home
To see the man
Who’d crawled half dead
Out of the sea (238).
Like many of the other characters, Max Junior faces heart-wrenching loss over the course of the novel. The news of Bernard’s death “had shattered him,” and struggles with his son’s rejection, wondering if “the second worst [possible case of unrequited love was] being rejected by your child” (112, 199). In combination with these issues, Max Junior also thinks “that everyone could and should despise him, there was no question, and they had good reason,” and tries to escape by “slipping into the water” (196, 197). Nosias and Gaelle pull him out of the water, saving his life and symbolically pulling him out of the despair that nearly ends his life. Nosias and Gaelle each have their “own sorrows [that] could have nearly drowned them,” but they refuse to give up like Max Junior and instead “breath him back to life” and breathe hope back into him (238). Like Max Junior and many other people living in Ville Rose, Gaelle and Nosias have their own sorrows and have experienced loss, such as the loss of a spouse. However, they, like many others, have persevered and now help Max Junior to do the same. Therefore, Danticat likens the sea to sorrow by placing this verse as Gaelle and Nosias pull Max Junior out of the water and away from his own sorrows. Through these verses, Danticat likens the sea to sorrow and loss. Claire associates the sea with sorrow and loss, yet recognizes that it is necessary for human survival. Similarly, Nosias and Gaelle symbolically pull Max Junior out of his overwhelming despair. By placing these verses at Claire’s reflection and the plot point of Max Junior’s attempt and failure at suicide, Danitcat clearly relates the sea to the sorrow and despair of humanity.