Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Expert Lens 2: An Inextinguishable Fire

The article Motherhood in Toni Morrison's Beloved, floats several themes of psychoanalysis.
EFB-fire-shanyn.jpg (311×467)
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Firstly, the article defines that "the return of Beloved means that [Sethe] can erase some of the pain she inflicted upon herself by killing her child.". To me, this doesn't necessarily make sense. If Beloved returned, as a "second chance" for Sethe, then why would Denver register Beloved (a character that filled the sisterly role for Denver), as an evil spirit? More importantly, whose interpretation is most likely correct? Is Beloved an "evil", vengeful spirit, or is Beloved a second chance for Sethe?

Secondly, the article recalls when (at Sweet Home) Sethe was taken to the barn, stolen of her milk- Sethe told Mrs. Garner. The boys found out, and beat Sethe to the point that she couldn't run. However, she managed to escape. The article defines that this great escape represents Sethe's mental tenacity and determination, detailing the "stillness of her soul and her strength". I agree with this psychoanalysis. Sethe is usually seen as the tough, gritty mother, shielding Denver from the world. However, these shields were created from Sethe's past experiences, how Sethe doesn't want Denver to be exposed to the dirt of the world.

Lastly, the article defines how Sethe, unlike other slave women, "valued her body". Sethe saw a future (one away from Sweet Home) and strived to find that future. However, Sethe discovered that the Schoolteacher "perceived all slaves as mere animals". This watered the plant of anger in Sethe's mind, but she managed to bottle it. I agree with the effect of this discovery. If someone lives a horrid, controlled life, treated as animals, it creates an inextinguishable fire of anger, as visible in the image above.  This fire soon grew out of control; she developed a murderous obsession which, as the article detailed, disrupted Sethe's ability to adapt to strategy. By burning this ability of hers, some argue (and I agree) that she was unable to find her personality in life, and unable to reach a healthy mental equilibrium.
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4 comments:

  1. Lorenzo FernandezApril 30, 2015 at 12:09 AM

    I like your title it drew me in. I like your an analysis of how the author describes Sethe.

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  2. Lorenzo FernandezApril 30, 2015 at 12:09 AM

    I like your title it drew me in. I like your an analysis of how the author describes Sethe.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JosephApril 30, 2015 at 9:36 AM

    I really liked your ideas on how she possibly lost who she really is in life and that she needs to find herself.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Karen BarraganApril 30, 2015 at 11:12 AM

    It's interesting how there are two sides to this. I think Beloved came back as a second chance for Sethe to make up the time lost, after she decided to kill Beloved. I agree with everything you mentioned in this blog. I never thought that Sethe "valued her body". But your explanation makes sense.

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