Why Not a Tree?

          The ending of My Love, My Love was unsatisfyingly frustrating.  In The Little Mermaid, the mermaid fails to marry the prince like Ti Moune fails to marry Daniel.  However, the mermaid at least gets one of her goals.  The mermaid wishes to receive a soul to live an afterlife and to marry the prince.  While the prince marries another girl, the mermaid still receives a chance from the air fairies to go to heaven.  After reading this, I hoped the ending of My Love, My Love would be somewhat more satisfying.  I did not expect Ti Moune to marry Daniel, however, I did expect the end of the book to be more hopeful or to see Ti Moune transform in some way.  Instead Lucifus “[picks] up [Ti Moune’s] corpse by an arm and a leg, [dumping] it at the side of the road to await the garbage collectors.”  This shows that Ti Moune has died and is not even seen as a peasant anymore.  She is seen as garbage.  Another important part of the ending is her connection to the gods, which is displayed throughout the book, has backfired.  She dies in none other than a storm, similar to the one she survived as a young girl.  This ending is frustrating because she dies.  She gets swept out of the Hotel Beauxhommes at a rapid pace following the return of Andrea. This seems very unfair to a girl who has made this journey to make Daniel well again.  In addition, she is not only demoted as a peasant, but the storm seems to symbolize that the gods are no longer advocating for Desiree, showing that she is a lonely piece of garbage.  Overall, Desiree makes the journey from being loved by Mama Euralie and Tonton Julian to an obsessive love for Daniel to being lonely, which is frustrating to see because the main character does not thrive.  She grew throughout the story only to end up as a piece of garbage on the side of the road.  

         The book teaches its reader to be who they are.  At the beginning of the book, before Desiree meets Daniel, she is a hopeful person.  She believes she has a connection to the gods and she is hopeful of they will bring to her.  As she goes on the journey, she is still naive, however she grows up.  She has hopes and dreams of marrying Daniel, but these hopes and dreams become challenged.  Previously, she had a good life as a peasant  and was able to daydream as she wanted, but she wanted more.  When she left her peasant life, she did not get to marry Daniel and she ended up dying.  This ending is sad to prove that the best life for Desiree was not at the Hotel Beauxhommes.  The author also makes a statement through the little girl that Desiree cannot return to the peasant life.  If Desiree had resisted the urge to see Daniel, she most likely would not have died from the storm.  The storm was the wrath of the gods because Desiree had abused them along the way, especially Erzulie by placing the comb in a drawer.  Desiree took the opportunity to take care of Daniel for granted.  In addition, the story involves realistic.  Desiree easily became obsessed with Daniel.  She thought she was different from the other peasants.  While this was partially true, she did not fit in with the rich people either, but she ignored this fact.  To avoid the depressing ending, Desiree needs to understand her place in society.  To conclude, My Love, My Love teaches the reader to not only be who they are, but to also be realistic and understand their place in the world.  

Sources: Google Images

My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy