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| A Guadeloupean woman |
“Tetiyette and the Devil” is the story about a teenage girl who is
never satisfied. She is seventeen years old and is in an appropriate age to marry.
There are several men who come the see her that are referenced as a “goat (Pg.1)" and
a “pig (1)" she denies seeing these men because of their appearance. However, a devil
comes a long and is dressed in gold and catches her attention. This conveys a
message that she is worried about appearance other than what can be inside a
person.
In the story, the mother tries to warn her daughter of the
potential evil of her husband. The daughter then lies to her mother by telling
her that everything is fine. When the daughter lies to the mother it makes it
clear that wealth and appearance is more important to this girl rather than her
honesty towards family.
Later in the story, the daughter cries out for help to her
mother as her husband starts consuming her. “Oh, Mama! Oh, Mama! Bel-air-drum! The
man to whom you married me, Bel-air-drum! Is a terrible devil! Bel-air-drum (3)!" He’s
eating me up! Bel-air-drum! The mother is showing her daughter tough love by
not helping her. Her mother proclaims, “As far as I’m concerned, I had also
warned her to beware (4)."
During the story there is repetition of the phrase “Bel-air-drum (3),”
and this can be used to make the reader or audience remember the story. The
intended audience of this story would most likely be for young Guadeloupean girls
or teenagers approaching the age of marriage. It’s a folk story to warn the
young women of Guadeloupe of a potential love based on appearance, because
everyone is not who they appear to be. Also, it informs these women that if they
get themselves into trouble the closest people to you may not help, as they
have warned you. It also shows, that you must be responsible for your own
actions.
At the end of the story the girl is almost fully consumed,
until her brother comes upstairs and cuts the devil open, then his sister
emerges whole. Even though the sister lied to their mother, the brother is a
forgiving person by helping her. The audience is in a conflicted state because
the unforgiving mother is just in her own right, but the brother is the savior
of the sister. So, who do you side with?
Works cited
Cesaire, Laurent, I and L. 1991.Green Cane Juicy Flotsam. New Brunswick, New jersey. Rutgers University press.
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