This particular reading of Beloved has been my favorite from the whole book. What made it so interesting was that the majority of this section took place inside the heads of the main characters addressing their memories and also giving us a deeper understanding of who these people were. The first chapter was all about Sethe coming to terms with who Beloved is to her. Throughout the chapter she also reasons with herself for killing Beloved, stating that, “if I hadn’t killed her she would have died and that is something I could not bear to happen to her” (236). She tells herself that she doesn’t even need to say any of this to Beloved because she already knows and understands. She also now fully understands why Baby Suggs always thought about colors in her later years in life. Sethe for the first time in a while has a sense that her family is together again in some way and she is enjoying her life in this moment the same way Baby Suggs took the time to enjoy colors after so many years of not being allowed to think for herself. Sethe’s chapter concludes with her thinking about Paul D and how he was the reason she did not recognize Beloved from the beginning. She says that Paul D had always wanted Beloved gone and how he is in the wrong for calling her love, “too thick” because really what is important is that she has something to love and protect and someone who came back to her (239).
The next chapter focuses on Denver and for the first time really shows how she feels about her mother, father, and Beloved. One of the biggest questions I had before was if Denver knew how Beloved had died and here she answers it saying that as much as she loved her mother she also feared her. Her brothers when they still lived at 124 would tell her stories about how to survive their mother if it ever came to that again and she also talks about this nightmare situation where Sethe cuts her head off and then braids her hair. She keeps this fear deep down inside of herself as to not anger her mother and to protect both herself and Beloved. Denver repeats throughout the chapter, “It’s all on me, now” when speaking about her protective nature over Beloved. Denver had always felt the comfort from her ghost and now that she was back in person was not going to let anyone take her away again. Denver has this protective nature because she does not know when Sethe will turn again and try to hurt them. Finally Denver also reveals in this chapter that she still believes Halle is eventually going to come back for them and that when he does he will protect her and Beloved from Sethe. Her chapter ends similar to Sethe with her repeating the phrase, “She’s mine, Beloved. She’s mine” (247).
After Denver, Beloved tells her story but in a less direct way. Her first chapter is very interesting because of the spacing. There are big gaps between some of the words almost as if they symbolize gaps in the memories or who Beloved really is. She also here talks about how she is missing her teeth which is similar to when she pulled a tooth out in front of Denver. It seems that she is not in the real world and this is more a part of the magic realism area of the story. The recurring theme of water also plays a part in her story as she described floating with the dead men and how she sees Sethe’s face in the water which looks like hers as well as the earrings that were taken from Sethe when in jail. After this is when Beloved and Sethe finally talk to each other and how Beloved remembers her and will stay with Sethe. She also here refers to the school teacher and his nephews as the “men without skin” which seems fitting as that description would be dark and something to cause fear in someone just as schoolteacher did with Sethe and the other slaves (254). The chapter ends again with this phrase, “You are mine” which I think helps to symbolize who Beloved is as a person (256). She seems to represent something different for each person in her life and helps both Sethe and Denver realize things about themselves and also helps to give them what they need in life. For Sethe it seems like that may be validation that she did the right thing and that her daughter still loves her and for Denver that is someone to connect with and to be able to protect so that she does feel so alone in her life.
This section ends with Paul D. He recounts the end of his time at Sweet Home and when all the men decided it was time to run. He also speaks about how he did love Sethe and how it hurt that he no longer had the feeling of wanting to live with one woman after running away from her. Stamp Paid then comes to visit and the two men talk about what happened all those years ago and how Paul may have understood had he been there because all she was trying to do was stop things from getting any worse for her children.
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