Night Women: Tone

I think that the tone of this story is different than many of the others that are a part of this book. In this story, the mother has accepted what her job is and although she knows it is not the ideal situation, she understands that it is what she has to do for her son. Her relationship with her son is very interesting because she cannot tell him outright what she is doing. The way that she crafts her explanation about her life is so unique. She smooths out all the problems and creates a narrative that her son can understand. But she knows that her situation cannot stay like this forever. For example, she sees the other women in the village and says, “These women, they destroy their toil so that they will always have more to do. And as long as there’s work, they will not have to lie next to the lifeless soul of a man whose scent still lingers in another woman’s bed” (Danticat 72). I think that these quotes show that she thinks that the fact that these women undo their own work for the sake of just doing work is not a good way to live. She would rather live her poorer life with her son than have to make up work to avoid their husband. She feels that her son is what makes her work worth it, because if she can provide for him, then he can live a better life than she did. Her tone mimics her feelings about her situation.  She knows that one day, her son will understand what she is doing, and one day, there may not any clients for her, but for now, her life is not bad. She is making the best of it, for her son.