Beloved

How far are you willing to go to protect your loved ones? Would you be able to kill someone who could potentially harm others, or would you be willing to sacrifice your life in order to save someone else? Would you murder your own children to protect them from a brutal life of slavery? In Beloved by Toni Morrison, she illustrates how a mother’s love would lead her to kill her own child, rather than lose her to a life of complete injustice: slavery. It is clear that the murder of Sethe’s daughter was committed as a preventive measure—out of love for her innocent child, but does Sethe love her children too much? Is she too attached to them? To some of the other characters, Baby Suggs and Paul D especially, a slave should never become too close to her children. In their eyes, it simply sets someone up for a life of torment and utter anguish.

Morrison focuses on the power of memory throughout the novel, and how the remembrance of a buried memory, or “rememory”, can be as traumatizing as the actual event. At the beginning of the novel, Sethe has managed to hide her memories of slavery, her escape, the brief period of peace in Cincinnati, and the event that led to her daughter’s death. To her, they are all better off forgotten. However, with the reentrance of Paul D into her life, Sethe’s memory jumps back to the old memories that she had with Paul D, ones that she tried to forget. Sethe learns that she has not escaped her past, and the emergence of the physical manifestation of her dead daughter’s spirit, Beloved, confirms the fact. Despite her actions, Sethe will continually be plagued by her past; it is as much a part of her as the present. Yet, especially at the end of the novel, both the group of women and Paul D try to convince her that she is not defined by it.

The notion of community is also important throughout Beloved. At the beginning of the novel, Sethe and Denver do not share any sense of community with the outside world. The only community that they know is the one that they comprise at 124 with the ghost of Sethe’s dead daughter. Although Sethe is able to manage, Denver is confined to a life of perpetual boredom. The African American community in Cincinnati ostracizes the residents of 124 soon after Sethe murders her daughter; however, in the years thereafter, Sethe remains too proud to accept help from anyone else. This can be attributed, in part, to the community failing to warn Sethe of Schoolteacher's return; however, the community eventually comes together to exorcise the spirit of Beloved, and offer their friendship to Sethe; they are finally willing to concede that she is enduring a memory that they helped to create. Denver accepts help from the community, and experiences catharsis by confiding in them; however, Sethe still struggles to come to terms with the past.

Out of all the novels I have read this summer, Beloved is probably the most Gothic of them all. In fact, I think that its safe to argue that it evolves more in the Gothic tradition, than the southern gothic tradition. Morrison uses supernatural occurrences, like the character of Beloved, to illustrate the power of the past. Beloved is an apparition of Sethe’s murdered daughter, who inhabits a human body, and mysteriously shows up outside of 124. She has intense psychological control over everyone at 124; they are all, in different ways, enslaved to her presence. A ghost assumed to be Beloved, as well, also haunts the house that Sethe and Denver inhabit. Additionally important is the theme of gratuitous violence. After the Garner’s die, Sethe is raped, whipped, and robbed of her milk. Similarly, Paul D endures much abuse on the chain gang, in addition to the labor-intensive tasks that he must complete. Death and murder are also prevalent in the novel: Sixo is lynched and Sethe murders her daughter, and attempts to murder all her children before she is stopped. Slavery also has a dehumanizing effect on the characters that leads to psychological torment, specifically in the character of Halle, who goes mad upon witnessing the abuse of his wife.

Beloved is an insightful look into the traumatizing effects that the institution of slavery had on African Americans. Morrison captures the anguish of her characters who might have physically escaped slavery, yet remain enslaved to the memory of the injustices associated with the institution. It is also important to note that there were no safe havens for slaves. As in Sethe’s case, their former masters would often travel great lengths and offer rewards for their return. Paul D and Halle were worked tirelessly for economic gain; whereas, Sethe was physically taken advantage of because of her gender. Although slavery on the Garner estate was atypical, slavery is slavery, and it forever scars those subjected to it, regardless of the degree.