I found the development of Carmel’s voice, or rather, the changes that occur in how her narrative is told, to be very interesting. At the beginning of the story, the language used to describe Carmel and her family is very factual. It is what one would expect when reading a history book: “Carmel was the lone child among the handful of bonds people remaining at Valdore, the coffee plantation to which Olivier de L’Ecart returned in late July 1803” (86). There is also a constant emphasis on her not talking: “None of the bonds people still present…could recall having heard her utter a single word” (88). Most of the time, others see this as an advantage. For example, Eugenie thinks this will make Carmel a great confidant of all of her secrets. Or rather, she cannot snitch on her. We are often told that the other servants exclude her because they find her silence strange. So in this way, the reader is made to feel like her silence is a disadvantage. Carmel is never shown to explicitly want to learn to speak out loud when this happens.

Eventually, she starts creating her own language and learns several languages at the convent. Even more striking is the samples of her “voice” that appear between pages 124-131. The language reveals someone who is learning to write and speak. It can be very difficult to understand at times. But, within these passages, Carmel’s opinions of Eugenie are revealed, whereas before, she would just be silent and not voice her opinions. For example, when Eugenie tells her she should not study so much, it is written that “I rolld my eyes” (125). So, we can see some confidence or at least her opinions beginning to be revealed. By the end of the story, the language is that of a traditional narrative. It is told from Carmel’s perspective by using “I”. It is not hard to follow, and the language is not as “textbook” as it was at the beginning. Carmel, by this point, is more in control of her powers. She is finally ready to take action, which has been contemplated throughout the entire short story.

I wanted to comment on Sofia’s point about the control of Carmel’s narrative and the incomplete, detached image of Carmel that remains. Although we are told that Carmel begins to move more confidently, these changes occur very abruptly. She switches from not talking and her thoughts/opinions not be known to making it clear where she stands very quickly. I found it hard to exactly pinpoint why these changes occurred and often had to reread pages to see if I’d missed something. We also don’t get to learn much about how Carmel mastered her powers and her night interactions with her mother. So much is still left unexplored.