Sethe’s actions in Beloved are looked upon in horror by everyone who know what she did. To kill a child no more than two years old and to be proud of it was despicable in the eyes of others. However according to Sethe, her actions were justified and they were out of love.
“"For a baby she throws a powerful spell," said Denver. "No more powerful than the way I loved her," Sethe answered,” is said in the very beginning of the book. From the start, Sethe stands by the idea that the murder was an act of powerful love.
This idea is one that is difficult to understand for those who have not been in Sethe’s place. How can she proudly claim that such an act of violence is also an act of love? Love is a sacrifice but was Sethe’s sacrifice too extreme?
It is understandable for Sethe to want to protect her child from the evils of slavery and at the time, it was very hard to do. Even when they were in Ohio which was a free state, the fugitive slave laws allowed for them to be hunted down like animals. Sethe herself hoped that her own mother was not killed because she tried to run away without her so it would make sense that Sethe’s number one priority is to keep her children away from Sweet Home and wherever they may have been sent afterwards. Nothing could be more important to her than keeping her children safe from the white people. And arguably, when you're dead you're safe.
Denver is scared of her mother and claims her brothers left because they were too. And being hurt but told that it's out of love is a mark of many dangerous relationships. It isn't healthy to live in fear of someone who claims to love you. And worse, who claims to be willing to hurt you out of love.
What disgusts the townspeople so much about Sethe's crimes were that she was not humbled. There was no shame in the fact that she had hurt and killed her child. She was almost proud of it. And while there is something to be proud of in keeping her children away from the four horsemen and Sweet Home, murder is less laudable. But she loved her child enough to want them away from Sweet Home. Did she love them enough to take a chance that they could have a better life?
And even if it was out of love, how is it up to Sethe to decide for everyone whether it is better to die or be put into slavery? Does she really love her children if she gives them no chance at a future?
I think the fact that your blog post ends with so many questions really embodies this part of the novel. Morison crafted the story to circle around this controversial event in the hopes that we might better understand all the circumstances. By allowing us to see Sethe's love while also seeing the horrors we are left conflicted, and your blog post really shows that.
ReplyDeleteI think what Alexan says when he talks about the "controversial event" is key. Morrison doesn't simply state whether Sethe's actions were justified or not in the novel, but instead prompts the reader to view them in light of her past in slavery. Morrison makes the point to stress the idea that Sethe's actions were motivated by nothing but love, but at the same time provides a different perspective through characters like Paul D, who find her act simply appalling. It is interesting to note that it is this act of Sethe that will indirectly act as the catalyst for her deterioration as a character when she falls into a guilt spell with Beloved, possibly indicating that regardless of whether Sethe's actions were justified, they took their toll on her mental fortitude in the end.
ReplyDeleteAs we mentioned in class, I think it's possible that Morrison's goal in this novel was not to have the reader pick whether or not Sethe was right or wrong in her actions, but rather simply to understand why it is so complicated. You are right that the entire town is disgusted by what she did, and also that she did it out of protection. I think these largely summarize the two different sides of the argument: one that is acceptable by certain standards, and one that is based on the power of such a deep maternal bond.
ReplyDeleteI think your blog post really does a good job of showing how complex the entire novel was. Your questions at the end are some that are really hard to answer for us now, as people just trying to understand how terrible slavery is, but would probably be even more difficult for the people who actually lived through slavery. This is why I think that Baby Suggs is able to live with Sethe for so much longer, because she understands more than the other townspeople the complexities of Sethe's situation.
ReplyDelete"When you're dead you're safe"--this sums up Sethe's point of view effectively, and it works as a pretty stark indictment of a social/legal system in which *life* does not equal safety that is in any way protected by the law of the land. No matter how we parse our judgment of Sethe's choice (and most readers are aware that, at a fundamental level, none of us is in any position to judge), we always have to remember that the *real* culprit here is the institution of slavery itself and, as you say, the Fugitive Law that eliminated the North as a safe zone. Sethe's actions are unimaginable outside of this context. It's this context that is the ultimate object of the novel's criticism.
ReplyDeleteI think the question, "Does she really love her children if she gives them no chance at a future?" cannot really be answered with anything but that Sethe does. And, as you have written, to say that she does would be a mild understatement. The way that Sethe believes that her murder of her child was the ultimate sacrifice for them and still does it anyway is testament to her love for her children.
ReplyDeleteI think that you summed everything up very nicely and got the most important question out into the air, however as I was reading your blog post i continued to think about why Sethe would have the burial stone of her child engraved with "beloved." In the beginning of the book it seemed very confusing to why Sethe would prostitute herself in return for engraving the headstone of her child, which we later learned she killed. Despite as the story continues we feel more for Sethe and understand her more, we learn that love is what killed beloved and that she was aptly named, and contributes to you point of lack of regret and pride.
ReplyDeleteI think you do a very good job of showing the extent Sethe went to for her dead child, but I don't know if she is necessarily proud of her decision. She did what she thought she had to do and it haunts her to the brink of death. Thoughts?
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