Dearly Beloved

Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved was for me an extremely difficult read to initially comprehend. The style it is written in can be described as patchwork - a central narrative that is constructed out of interactions among the characters and sprits living in house # 124 with digressions into the past life of Sethe. I had to read and reread the first ten pages just to stay afloat above the torrent of information that was presented to me in a style that took many pages to get used to.

Morrison has a great way of blending fantasy with reality. The hauntings with which Sethe’s house is plagued are referenced as a terrible nuisance, though with a passive acceptance as something that must be felt by the family. I found that colors and imagery pervaded everything from the past histories of these characters to their present reality in the house. The symbol of the tree, in particular, has deep implications. It represents not only the rape and struggle upon the Sweet Home farm experienced by Sethe – the cherrywood tree deeply etched into her back - but also a certain maternal care and love to which Denver and Beloved cling. In Ohio, Sethe has become withdrawn from her family because of the death of her baby and the ensuing hauntings that have marginalized the relationship with her daughter. Denver receives much wanted motherly affection by withdrawing toward the woods behind the house, particularly the tree sanctuary. “Veiled and protected by the live green walls, she felt ripe and clear, and salvation was as easy as a wish.” (35) This feeling of protection has roots in Sethe’s escape from Sweet Home farm while pregnant. The sanctuary is the womb of Sethe that protected Denver during this escape, and it is the place where Denver feels protection and love, now lacking in the complicated relationship with her mother. Denver is returning to the womb of her mother that has, in the past, afforded her sanctuary.
Upon the return from the carnival, Sethe relieves herself behind the house before she has a chance of examining the stranger that has appeared in their yard. But, in fact, this is a representation of her giving birth, or rather rebirth, to her dead daughter, as represented by Beloved. It is only after this “breaking of water” that runs and runs out of Sethe that Beloved is seen by the family. And coincidentally, Beloved appears from the direction of this “womb” tree sanctuary.

What was confusing was the manner in which this information was presented, and I had trouble figuring out if I was supposed to know what the characters were talking about or not, perhaps having not read carefully enough. Sorting it all out, however, I realized that the gaps and holes would be filled through the flashbacks and interactions between the characters and that the fragmentation was on purpose. I look forward to reading about Beloved and what she brings to the family.