Book 3, Chapter 16 Summary

Sophie gets up in the morning to watch the sun rise. She bathes outside, mentioning that she has felt fat since she had the baby. Her grandmother calls to her from her room. Answering her, Sophie notices a statue of Erzulie on Ifé's dresser. Sophie retrieves her daughter from Atie's room, where Atie is bouncing her on the bed. After Sophie bathes and changes the baby, she sees her grandmother naked outside in the bath shack, through the window. Sophie notes her grandmother's curved spine and the pineapple-sized hump which is not visible through her clothing. She thinks of the egg-sized mounds her mother once developed in her breasts.

Book 3, Chapter 16 Analysis

It is important that Sophie sees her grandmother's statue of Erzulie on the dresser. This entire chapter, along with the image of the complex goddess on the dresser...