Krik? Krak! | Epilogue: Women Like Us | Summary

Summary

The narrator of "Epilogue: Women Like Us" addresses women similar to herself in the second-person voice. As the narrator braids the young woman writer's hair, the narrator describes the resemblance the young woman writer has with her mother, her grandmother, and previous generations of women. She details the role that writing plays in Haitian society. Writing is often seen as politically subversive or simply useless. According to the narrator writers are considered either lazy or socially dangerous. The narrator also notes that women were encouraged to use their time to cook and take care of others, rather than to write or create. She notes that writing in Haitian culture is considered "an act of indolence, something to be done in a corner when you could have been learning to cook." The young woman writer in the story understands writing differently, as a way to honor and express the wisdom of her family, community, and ancestors.

Analysis

The narrator of "Epilogue: Women Like Us" addresses a nameless "You" who seems to be an at least somewhat autobiographical young woman. The young woman writer seeks to honor her ancestors and connect with them by telling their stories. Her profession as a writer is upsetting to many people and goes against what is expected of her. Danticat had similar experiences with her parents who discouraged her writing career and pushed her toward earning a medical degree. The narrator of "Epilogue: Women Like Us" implies that the young woman writer has found her own authentic way of honoring her past that involves writing about her ancestors' stories. She sees writing as a means of remembering and honoring the many women who came before her. The narrator describes the writer's intention to communicate to the world the lives of her ancestors, "those nine hundred and ninety-nine women who were boiling in your blood." The writer's work will be a "testament to the way that these women lived and died and lived again."