Memory and the way both Twyla and Roberta remember there times together at the orphanage differ greatly from one another and even from act to act. Morrison herself calls this "misrememory." How does this shifting memory function in the story over all?

Memory is not only a site of relived trauma but also an act of coming to terms with one's pain and failings in order to move forward and become a better person. The girls engage in memory retrieval and analysis to connect with each other, but sticking to simple things like Easter baskets and the older girls isn't possible: they always end up veering into the more challenging memories of their time at St. Bonny's, opening up old wounds and, in Twyla's case, locating sites of absence and suppression. Engaging with memory means confronting their complicity in cruelty and in the ways in which they displaced their own pain. By finally confronting memories head-on, they are hopefully able to begin to heal and atone.