Beloved is a novel written by Toni Morrison, which depicts a very deep and painful view on the consequences of slavery in America. The novel was published in 1987 after post civil war of America. It revolves around the main character Sethe, who is a escaped slave haunted by her past. The original story is based on a true-life incident of a runaway slave named Margaret Garner who murdered her child to prevent him from being enslaved. Thus, the novel has the elements of historical and magical realism and the plot describes the psychological and emotional consequences of slavery.
The themes discussed in the novel are thought provoking; the novel depicts slavery, search for identity and the desire to be free. The author employs the strategies, such as the shifts in the points of view, the transference of the narration, and the use of symbols in order to elaborate on the above-mentioned themes. Thus, “Beloved” is not only the novel about the physical slavery and its aftermath but also the novel that explores the further psychological and spiritual oppression of the black people even when they are free.
Themes in “Beloved”
Theme#1
The Trauma of Slavery
124 was spiteful. Full of a baby’s venom. The women in the house knew it and so did the children.
The very first lines of the novel prepare the reader for the major theme of the passing through traumas of slavery. The house at 124 Bluestone road, “is a spiteful house”, this means that the house still holds ill feelings or perhaps the suffering that the former residents of the house carried. This is not something that is physical, but emotional and psychological, which everyone who resides there experiences.
The “baby’s venom” signifies the spirit of the dead child Beloved who haunts the house with the trauma that the character goes through. This passage builds on the concept of the slave’s past as a people never able to fully free themselves from the horrors they suffered.
Theme#2
The Search for Identity
Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.
The quote reflects the problem of identity crisis in most of the characters of ‘Beloved’. Sethe and other ex-slaves have achieved liberty in terms of physical freedom, but they fail to establish a new identity.
Both characters are on the path to claim their own identity which is a complex process given that they are struggling with their past and the memories they have. Identity is one of the most significant themes of the novel; all the main characters, Sethe, Paul D, and Denver, struggle to find their place in the world and their own personalities.
Theme#3
Motherhood and Family
Sethe’s greatest fear was the loss of her children. Her greatest joy was their company.
Motherhood and family are essential concerns in “Beloved”. Sethe’s behaviors in the novel are motivated by her efforts to free her children from the suffering of slavery. Her act of killing her daughter Beloved is a tragic attempt of eradicating her offspring from living a life of a slave, that was perhaps the only way a mother would seek solution.
This theme raises the issues of family tensions given by slavery and the level to which a mother is ready to go to protect her children.
Theme#4
Guilt and Redemption
It was not a story to pass on.
The theme of the novel of “Beloved” significantly concerns the issues of guilt and redemption. Being a murderer, Sethe overwhelms by guilt for the death of her daughter and for the things she had done.
The phrase ‘It was not a story to pass on’ means that the past is so much painful that is almost unbearable to remember. However, the actual process of confronting this guilt feeling and seeking to atone is something that is valuable. The characters have to face their past and the guilt to cope with their sins in order to move forward and find peace.
Theme#5
Community and Isolation
The world is in this room. This here’s all there is and all there needs to be.
The theme of community and isolation is another crucial aspect in “Beloved”. The isolation of Sethe from the society serves the purpose of protection, however his action increases his pain also. Her home turns into a prison, where she tries to build a protective wall for herself and her family against others or the society.
However, at the same time such isolation does not allow for the process of healing and growing to take place. Thus, the novel implies that only social integration can bring salvation, which is shown through Sethe’s attempts at reintegration with the aid of her neighbors and friends.
Theme#6
Freedom and Confinement
You got two feet, Sethe, not four.
The key issue addressed in the novel is the concepts of freedom and imprisonment, which are illustrated by the characters’ physical and psychological bondage. Paul D’s words to Sethe, “You got two feet, Sethe not four,” are used to remind Sethe and herself that they are human and are equally trying to make a life after being deprived of their personhood through slavery.
The struggle of the characters with the limits set by their past and the social rules still confine them. Freedom does not just concern ones’ physical freedom from a master but also involves the internal battles that one has to fight off.
See also: Themes in Invisible Man
Theme#7
The Power of Naming
Beloved, she my daughter. She mine.
Naming is one of the most vivid themes in “Beloved”. Sethe’s urging on realizing Beloved as her daughter fortifies the importance of identity and the process of restoring one’s past. Thus, naming functions as the means of claiming someone’s identity and the history belong to her or him.
By establishing that her daughter’s name is Beloved, Sethe asserts the girl’s existence and importance even with the suffering attached to recalling her memory. The power of naming is also reflected the characters’ ability to establish an identity and roles that they wanted to uphold in the society after going through the tragic experience of being slaves.
Quote Used in “Beloved”
Quote#1
Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.
This quote reflects the struggle for the characters’ identity in the novel. After obtaining freedom from slavery, Sethe and other characters found it challenging to forget their past, when they were slave.
The struggle to be self possessed and self determined is the core of their experience, each character endeavoring to construct a new self/humanity, to regain dignity in a context that tries to deprive them of all human qualities.
Quote#2
The world is in this room. This here’s all there is and all there needs to be.
This quote also brings out the aspect of Sethe’s isolation from the outside world hence living in her own closed world in her own house. Her decision to isolate herself and her family is at the same time a preventive strategy and a cause of additional pain.
This quote shows the theme of loneliness and the desire to belonging. Sethe’s social integration with her neighbors and friends is vital for her character’s recovery, thus highlighting the importance of group support in the process of overcoming the agony.
See also: Themes in Heart of Darkness
