Krik? Krak! | Caroline's Wedding | Summary

Summary

"Caroline's Wedding" takes place before, during, and after the titular event. As the story begins, Caroline emerges from a Brooklyn courtroom with her citizenship certificate. She calls her mother with excitement to announce that she has become a United States citizen and her mother advises her to go immediately to get a passport which will be the truly helpful document. Caroline drops off her citizenship papers and feels uneasy, recalling how her family has been anxious about papers ever since Ma was put in immigration jail when she was pregnant with Caroline. Caroline is about to marry Eric, who is a non-Haitian man. Caroline's adult sister Grace discusses the upcoming wedding with their mother, Ma. Ma strongly disapproves of Caroline marrying outside of their culture. She makes bone soup which is traditionally supposed to "cure all kinds of ills." Ma has been serving bone soup for dinner every night since Caroline and Eric got engaged in hopes that her soup will remove their relationship. Ma helps Caroline when she is nervous during the wedding ceremony and then becomes sad because she feels that Caroline will distance herself from her family after she gets married. The story ends with Caroline, Grace, and Ma cooking bone soup. They discuss the bonds that hold them together and will guide them forward.

Analysis

Ma develops her relationship with her daughters throughout the story "Caroline's Wedding." At first she opposes Caroline's wedding entirely. Her suspicion of people who are not Haitian leads to her showing open disrespect about Caroline's fiance. Throughout the story and Grace's interventions with Ma, it becomes clear that Ma's lack of affection for Caroline's fiance stems from her concern and worry for Caroline. By the end of the story the daughters find new ways to connect with their mother. The bone soup used as a symbol of hatred in the early part of the story becomes a representation of the bonds that the mother shares with her daughters.

Ma tries to use the soup to push Caroline's fiance away. Later the bone soup brings Caroline, Grace, and Ma together in a discussion of the importance of their family ties and cultural background. While Caroline may marry outside of the Haitian culture she implies that she will raise her children to know their culture's stories and traditions. In this way their family bond will be strengthened rather than distanced as they had originally feared.