Beloved Theme Notes Primal Love Morrison plays with
Beloved Theme Notes
Primal Love � Morrison plays with the line between what is “human” and what is “animal” ◦ Love is not an emotion the characters believe they can own (pg 45 / 54) �If you are not human, what is “love” anyway? �Sethe refuses to be labeled in the same manner as other slaves �loves like a mother would deeply, fiercely, animalistically
Primal Love � Sethe and motherly love ◦ Character forces reader to reevaluate what “love” looks like �Prides herself on her independence and strength to “love big” (162 / 190) ◦ Other characters cannot understand/abide by her attachment �Baby Suggs represents typical relationship to children (pg 5 / 6) �Paul D refuses to see the justification in her actions (165 / 194)
Primal Love � …“You got two feet Sethe, not four”… ◦ That’s the irony! Sethe was NEVER an animal �After being milked and beaten by schoolteacher and the nephews, Sethe left this was her breaking point �refused to be identified as such by schoolteacher, and refused to allow her kids to live that way either � Her conflict now is making others see that what she did was out of love, not something animalistic (pg 200 / 236) ◦ Fine line between motherly devotion and something else did Sethe actually cross that line? (pg 206 / 242) ◦ No peace until she finds forgiveness or retribution (pg 262 / 308 -9)
Womb / Tomb � Recurring theme throughout literature the womb of the mother will inevitably lead to death (tomb) ◦ Sethe’s role as mother is constantly revisited by reminders of death and dying �Daughter’s gravestone (pg 5) �Menstrual cycle / moments of peace (pg 95 / 111) �Bringing milk to her children (pg 100 / 118) this is also a reminder of Sethe’s primal instinct as a mother �Nursing Denver (pg 152 / 179) �Temptation / fear of becoming a prostitute (pg 204 / 241)
Womb / Tomb � Beloved’s role in this? ◦ Constant reminder for Sethe of her sin �She is here ONLY for Sethe, for better or worse ◦ Sethe’s womb is only disconnected from cycles of death AFTER she reinvents the moment of Beloved’s murder (262 / 308 -9) �Question to reader is whether Sethe has any life left after this final moment (273 / 322) � Beloved’s presence = death of the past ◦ Stories need to be nurtured and addressed (like a child) to be purged (274 / 323) �“It is not a story to pass on” (274 / 323), yet the characters pass it to the next generation, and Morrison passes it to us catharsis
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