Tan-Tan’s father occupies precarious moral territory in this novel. As the mayor, Antonio seems to be a moral man who is gutted by discovering his spouse’s infidelity. This is subverted when his own cheating is revealed. After murdering his wife’s lover, he drags into exile with him. Tan-Tan’s willingness to go with him showcases her adoration while exposing Antonio’s possessive and harmful obsession.

Once in exile, his alcoholism goes unchecked, and his abuse of Tan-Tan accelerates from emotional codependence to rape. Tan-Tan perceives two distinct sides to her father, demonstrated in her internally questioning whether “good Daddy or bad Daddy [is] talking” (149). This foreshadows the split in her own identity.

Tan-Tan’s mother is “no good at being a baby-mother” (48). She hands Tan-Tan off to the care of servants and the house eshu, though she also uses her as a pawn in her relationship with Antonio. While Ione’s infidelity initiates the narrative, it juxtaposes Antonio’s and is revealed to be both serial and emotionally inconsequential.

Ione is left behind on Toussaint when Antonio and Tan-Tan flee. She is never mentioned again except as justification for Antonio’s rapes and as a mythic figure who serves Tan-Tan on the “moon” (78) of legends.