Danticat: Nineteen Thirty-Seven

In Edwidge Danticat's short story, "Nineteen Thirty-Seven," she tells the story of a young girl, Josephine, whose mother has been imprisoned for being responsible for the death of another woman's child. This story is full of colorful imagery, being told from the point of view of a child, but a very important motif in this story is the Madonna that Josephine takes with her when she goes to visit her mother. The Madonna, which is a statue of the Virgin Mary that is usually holding a young Jesus, is often a symbol of faith and motherhood in Catholicism, and represents that as well in this story. In this specific tale, Josephine believes that the Madonna cries because her mother has died even though she knows that the tears are only oil being released from melted wax placed by her mother behind the eyes of the Madonna (Danticat). Her mother insists that she bring the Madonna with her on every visit, and at these visits Josephine believes that "At times, she seemed happier to see the Madonna than she was to see me,"(Danticat) which emphasizes the value of the statue to Josephine's mother. Her mother, as she begins to become even more ill in her imprisonment, tells Josephine to "Keep the Madonna when I am gone...When I am completely gone, maybe you will have someone to take my place...But if you don't, you will always have the Madonna," (Danticat). This quote emphasizes the Madonna statue as a motherly figure since Josephine's mother is hoping that it will take her place for her daughter once she has passed away. This story mainly focuses on the relationship between mother and child, something that the Madonna statue encompasses.