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April 13, 2007
Beloved's Connection
There is a lot to be discussed when it comes to the relationship between Sethe and Beloved. Sethe expresses ownership of Beloved, and says she has free will at the same time: "Beloved, she my daughter. She mine. See. She come back to me of her own free will and I don't have to explain a thing" (236). Sethe says "She mine," suggesting she has a power over Beloved (236). But then, in the same passage, Sethe says, "She come back to me of her own free will" (236). Which one is it; does Beloved have free will, or does Sethe control her?
Sethe took her daughter's life. There is no debate about it. I think the second part of the passage, the part that suggests Beloved has free will, is Sethe's way of justifying the murder to herself. Sure, this was not a good place to live, but as was suggested in class, if it was so bad, why didn't Beloved kill herself?
It is interesting to compare Sethe's actions to Alice's. In Kindred, Alice chooses to kill herself and let her children grow up in a terrible era, which is the exact opposite of what Sethe did. If you do not think Sethe's actions were moral, do you think Alice's were?
Posted by carliner at April 13, 2007 02:20 PM