Chapter 7 - Dreams and Promises Summary and Analysis

This chapter is a story about the life of Alourdes's mother, Philomise. Clement Rapelle, a Haitian man, dreams about a woman named Philomise who lives in a compound called 'Seven Stabs of the Knife,' who, he is told in the dream, will help to cure his ailing son. When he finds her, she repeatedly refuses service to him because the spirits have not come to her to explain how to treat the boy. In time, the two become friends, and she tells him the story of how she began her work in treating people. The spirit, Ageou, comes to her in a dream and tells her how to make treatments, but she does not want to take on the responsibility. As a result, he makes her go blind. Her sight is restored...