Forgotten “like a bad dream,” years of oppression and forced labor were pushed further and further back into the minds of African Americans in the 1800’s as memories too painful to recall plagued their history (Morrison 323). In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, these memories resurface as the return of Sethe’s deceased daughter forces to her face her past as an escaped slave, rape survivor, murderer, and mother. With Beloved as a multi-faceted symbol, Morrison illustrates Sethe’s painful, repressed memories from years of trauma, and demonstrates how these memories lead to a better personal and historical understanding of slavery.
In a general sense, Beloved serves as a catalyst for dredging up repressed memories of slavery that Sethe has purposefully …show more content…
While “Beloved was shining” from the life she was creating for herself through Sethe’s past, Sethe herself is becoming drained from the excruciating act of remembering (76). Her memories and trauma manifest themselves physically, and cause her to lose her sense of humanity as Beloved herself becomes more human. Trying to recover the person she was before Beloved, Sethe recalls Baby Suggs’ words, and wishes to lay down “her heavy knives of defense against [the] misery, regret, gall and hurt…” that Beloved was forcing her to face (101). After years of repression and building a new life to hide her old one, Sethe’s mind cannot combat against the evil that comes with these memories. Both Sethe’s inability to cope and Beloved’s consumption of Sethe’s past manifest physically in the two women. Sethe becomes a feeble, weak woman while Beloved becomes a pregnant “devil-child… naked and smiling… thunder-black and glistening…” (308). Similar to the practice of slavery, Beloved controls Sethe as her presence becomes more powerful and dominant. Beloved becomes a nearly unstoppable, vampiric force that leaves Sethe weak and hurting. Morrison’s language here directly reflects the darker imagery of Beloved’s first appearance. As she corrupts Sethe with her harsh reality, Sethe is unable to break free from Beloved’s control. Ella notices this and Sethe’s suffering, and calls upon the town to exorcise Beloved from the
In a general sense, Beloved serves as a catalyst for dredging up repressed memories of slavery that Sethe has purposefully …show more content…
While “Beloved was shining” from the life she was creating for herself through Sethe’s past, Sethe herself is becoming drained from the excruciating act of remembering (76). Her memories and trauma manifest themselves physically, and cause her to lose her sense of humanity as Beloved herself becomes more human. Trying to recover the person she was before Beloved, Sethe recalls Baby Suggs’ words, and wishes to lay down “her heavy knives of defense against [the] misery, regret, gall and hurt…” that Beloved was forcing her to face (101). After years of repression and building a new life to hide her old one, Sethe’s mind cannot combat against the evil that comes with these memories. Both Sethe’s inability to cope and Beloved’s consumption of Sethe’s past manifest physically in the two women. Sethe becomes a feeble, weak woman while Beloved becomes a pregnant “devil-child… naked and smiling… thunder-black and glistening…” (308). Similar to the practice of slavery, Beloved controls Sethe as her presence becomes more powerful and dominant. Beloved becomes a nearly unstoppable, vampiric force that leaves Sethe weak and hurting. Morrison’s language here directly reflects the darker imagery of Beloved’s first appearance. As she corrupts Sethe with her harsh reality, Sethe is unable to break free from Beloved’s control. Ella notices this and Sethe’s suffering, and calls upon the town to exorcise Beloved from the