Crossing the Mangrove

The dynamic yet flat Aristide Lameaulnes is Loulou and Aurore’s son, and thus Mira’s half-brother; their great-grandfather Gabriel was a white planter disowned for marrying a Black woman. Aristide opens his chapter by stating Sancher should not have looked peaceful in death, but rather “[…] his blood should have been made to flow and avenge my sister” (45). In this, he reveals his physical weakness as a young man and emotional weakness for Mira. He is easily overpowered by the older Sancher and becomes full of rage, wanting to formally accuse him of sexual assault—but no one, not even his father, friend and head of police Ro-Ro, or singer-turned-sex worker Isaure, takes him seriously. Overall, Aristide uses his position in the Lameaulnes family to bully employees of his father’s nursery business and pressure Mira into incest—which is what makes his physical defeat by Sancher and emotional loss of Mira so infuriating. Like his father, who enjoys controlling his “zombie” wife Dinah, he is a racist and misogynist who overpowers those in vulnerable social or economic positions. In the end, he gains courage from rum he drinks at Sancher’s wake and considers leaving Rivière au Sel.

Vilma Ramsaran is the only surviving daughter of her powerful West Indian family, headed by Sylvestre. Vilma is dark-skinned and strong like her father and brothers; she was preceded by a light-skinned sister named Shireen, who only survived a few months after birth. Vilma’s mother Rosa never recovered from this loss and subsequently rejects her. The bookish Vilma is a round, dynamic character who seems to have little in common with Mira, but both “seduce” Sancher and become impregnated by him; despite this framing of Vilma, it is important to note she is underage, making her a victim of Sancher regardless of her intent (should one read her “seduction” literally), or perhaps a vessel for a higher power (should Sancher be read as a symbolical figure). Mira sees Sancher’s death as an opportunity for rebirth, while Vilma seemingly wishes for death—specifically, to join Sancher on his funeral pyre in an act of sati. However, sati is named after the Hindu goddess Sati, who died of self-immolation and was reincarnated into the goddess Parvati. In this, Vilma’s desire to “die” could be read as a desire to be reborn. It is with her that Sancher mentions his project, the titular Crossing the Mangrove—suggesting she connects with him on a physical and intellectual level.

Retired schoolteacher Léocadie Timothée is the static character who discovers Sancher’s corpse. Léocadie only met Sancher once, and he ran away in fear—mirroring the reaction of the only man she desired in the past, Déodat Timodent, as well as Sancher’s reaction to Xantippe, a dark-skinned character like her. She despises Sancher but also claims ownership over his corpse. She is from a politically active, relatively wealthy Black family and in her youth, used her privilege to open a school for Black villagers—however, they resented her privilege. Léocadie becomes lovesick over student Déodat, but he only seeks the company of light-skinned girls; despite this framing of Léocadie, it is important to note the power imbalance of such a relationship. In her struggle with internalized racism, her desire for light skin perhaps more so than love, she believes Sancher was a cause of misfortune—and that God answered her prayers by killing him.

At Sancher’s wake, half-Chinese postman Moïse proudly proclaims he was the first person in Rivière au Sel to know his real name (Francisco Alvarez-Sanchez). Moïse’s nickname “Mosquito” is reinforced by other characters’ description of him as physically repugnant, which is grounded in racism as much as it is his intrusive nature. He becomes fascinated with outsider Sancher and spends most of his time fixing his newly bought Alexis house. He even invites Sancher to move in with him during the renovation process—causing villagers to gossip about their potentially romantic relationship. While Moïse is a round character, he is not dynamic, as he retains his self-pitying victimhood. Many believe the falling out between him and Sancher was due to jealousy over Mira, when in reality, Moïse broke into Sancher’s locked trunk to learn more about him—and Sancher mistook this as theft.

Mama Sonson is a round but static character, an older woman descended from enslaved African people. When her second son marries a white woman in France, she is appalled. She possesses clairvoyance and practices folk medicine (a mix of Voodoo and Christianity), these skills bringing her and Sancher together (as he foresees his death as a cursed folk healer). Thus, Mama Sonson is one of few characters who views him with compassion.