Grace appears in Caroline's Wedding

Grace is the narrator of "Caroline's Wedding." She was born in Haiti but raised for many years in America after her father arranged a fake wedding in order to get permission to stay in America, eventually bringing along his family. As someone born in Haiti but raised in America, Grace represents a kind of bridge between her very Haitian mother, Ma, and her younger sister, American-born Caroline. During the somewhat tumultuous time around Caroline's wedding, Grace acts as a kind of mediator between Caroline and Ma, who is objecting to Caroline's choice of husband and the lack of ceremony associated with the wedding.

Grace's father died ten years earlier from cancer. He was a powerful presence in Grace's life, and Grace dreams of him every night. Often, she dreams of seeing him in a field, but being unable to get to him because of the knee-high grass. Other times, Grace dreams of seeing her father at a lavish party, smiling with guests. And one dream has her father in a helicopter on a rope ladder rescuing Grace from a high mountain cliff. These dreams demonstrate Grace's deep sense of loss even after all these years.

At the beginning of the story, Grace receives her naturalization certificate, becoming a U.S. citizen. Becoming American has been a goal of her family. Caroline has taken her citizenship for granted, while Ma believes Grace's new American status will bring her plenty of opportunities and benefits.

Caroline appears in Caroline's Wedding

Caroline is of Haitian descent, but was born in America. She is a teacher. She meets a janitor at the school, Eric, who she befriends. He asks her on a date about a year later, and she dates him for eighteen months before they decide to marry.

Caroline was born without a left forearm. The family believes that this deformity was caused by the shot administered by a prison doctor to Caroline's mother during a sweatshop immigration raid. She has taken her disability in stride, and for example in one scene Caroline is shown manipulating cards in a game of solitaire with dexterous ease. Her deformed arm causes discomfort in people she meets, who go out of their way to try to avoid looking at it or mentioning it. But Caroline is completely comfortable with it, as is her sister Grace.

As the wedding nears, Caroline experiences phantom limb pain, a phenomenon seen in victims of amputation where amputees still "feel" their missing limb and experience severe pain. To ease this pain, she gets a prosthetic arm. However, this pain reaches a crescendo on the morning of her wedding, and Caroline starts to have doubts about the wedding. Her mother soothes Caroline to the point that Caroline finds the strength to successfully get married, after which she is content in her new life.

Ma appears in Caroline's Wedding

Ma is the mother of Grace and Caroline. She came to America about twenty-five years earlier, and is a woman of about sixty. She clings to the old ways of her native Haiti, and this stubbornness frequently conflicts with her daughter, especially in regards to the central subject of the story, her daughter's impending wedding. She believes Caroline should have chosen a proper Haitian man instead of a Bahamian.

Celianne appears in Children of the Sea

Celianne is a teenage girl on the boat with the male narrator from Haiti to America. She gives birth while on the boat, but the baby soon dies. Celianne refuses to acknowledge the death for days. Finally, she dumps the dead baby overboard and joins it, drowning to death. The rest of the boat's inhabitants soon follow in the doomed voyage.

Jacqueline appears in Nineteen Thirty-Seven

Jacqueline is an old woman who visits the narrator and informs her that her mother's death is imminent. She is joined to her mother spiritually because of the shared experience of the Parsley Massacre of 1937. She accompanies the narrator to the prison and attends the burning of the mother's body.

Lamort appears in The Missing Peace

Lamort is a young girl who acts as a guide for visiting American Emilie, when Emilie wishes to find the resting place of her mother at the churchyard. Lamort is named after the French word for death, because her mother died during childbirth. Emilie convinces Lamort she should not have such a name but instead take on the name of her mother, Marie Magdalene.

Guy appears in A Wall of Fire Rising

Guy is a poor sugar mill worker who lives in the shantytown and who can barely support his family. He becomes obsessed with the mill owner's hot-air balloon, and dreams of starting a new life in a far-off land by traveling via the balloon. He steals the balloon and takes a ride before committing suicide by jumping to his death.

Princesse appears in Seeing Things Simply

Princesse is a young inhabitant of the town of Ville Rose who poses nude for visiting painter Catherine. She has her own artistic sensibilities, and her time with Catherine allows her to develop those sensibilities.

Prostituteappears in Night Women

The unnamed narrator is a prostitute who entertains what she calls "suitors" at her one-room home. She shares the home with her son, the product of a night with one of her suitors. She loves her son deeply, and takes great pains in shielding her son from the reality of her existence.

Rose appears in Between the Pool and the Gardenias

Rose is the abandoned baby that the narrator finds near a sewer in the city of Port-au-Prince. Rose is taken and cared for by the narrator. She is praised for being a quiet baby, but the quietness is evidence of a serious medical problem. Rose soon dies, and the narrator is accused of witchcraft by the groundskeeper because of her death.