The Impact of Slavery in Toni Morrison's Beloved

The novel Beloved by Toni Morrison grapples with the history of slavery within the United States. Morisson tells the forgotten story of the millions of slaves who lost their lives, identities, and history to slavery. But most clearly Beloved is a deconstruction of the trauma and loss of identity which is caused by slavery and gender role within society. Identity can be defined as the “qualities, beliefs, personality traits, appearance, and/or expressions that characterize a person.”  Throughout the book, it is evident that Sethe has lost her individuality and identity to slavery and has therefore placed her worth and sense of being in her daughters. It is not until she finally accepts that she is her own best thing that she regains her identity and individuality by finding her worth outside of her daughters.

Sethe’s experience as a slave created deep trauma that she could not escape even after being freed. Through her time as a slave, Sethe experiences various levels of deep trauma, she is beaten and raped by the men of sweet home. This trauma is so great that it has a lasting impact on Sethe. Even after escaping slavery Sethe only frees herself to a certain extent, she is physically free, but she is not independent. Sethe says, “Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another” (47). This connotes that, while she physically is granted freedom, she still lacks freedom of identity. This further develops the idea that she attaches her identity to her children. To support this she claims, “I wouldn’t draw breath without my children” (101). This word choice demonstrates how reliant Sethe is on her “identity” as a mother. While it might appear that she still holds parts of her identity, she fails to find meaning, and individuality outside of her children. This theme can be tracked as her relationship with Beloved becomes more complex and prominent.

Furthermore, as the complete story of Beloved unveils itself to the reader it is purposefully done in a manner that portrays Sethe as completely sane, despite characters like Paul D claiming she is crazy. Sethe’s choice to kill Beloved was one that was made out of love, sacrifice, and fear for her child-  the fear of her child having the same experience as her. In doing so she also kills a part of herself, as she believes she and her daughters are one and the same. Sethe even claims that “The best thing she was, was her children. Whites might dirty her all right, but not her best thing, her beautiful, magical best thing—the part of her that was clean” (125).  This shows how tethered Sethe was to her children, and that killing Beloved was an act of, yet again, failing to find her own individuality and identity. She saw her daughter as a fragment of herself, and that she would do anything to protect her from dirtying the only part of her that was clean. Not only does this show her reliance on the identity of motherhood it hints at how she no longer sees herself as clean, specifically alluding to the rape in which she earlier states that they: “Dirty you so bad you couldn’t like yourself anymore”(124). Which further promotes the idea that she will do anything to protect herself and her children and her identity of being a mother from her past trauma.

Lastly, as her relationship with Beloved becomes more substantial, the more Beloved morphs into her mother. This physical representation of Sethe getting the life sucked out of her is a direct analogy for the way that motherhood and trauma have sucked the individuality out of Sethe. It is described that, as Sethe weakens, Beloved becomes stronger: “Sethe no longer combed her hair or splashed her face with water. She sat in the chair licking her lips like a chastised child while Beloved ate up her life, took it, swelled up with it, grew taller on it” (124). The word choice in this passage is an allusion to the first scene where we meet Beloved, who is exceedingly thirsty and in need of water. In the scene, Beloved gulps down water in extreme thirst as pressure is put on Sethe’s bladder. Sethe describes the experience of Peeing herself: “Like a horse, she thought, but as it went on and on she thought, No, more like flooding the boat when Denver was born”(25).  Not only does Morrison compare this to birthing a child by switching roles, Morrison shows how interdependent Sethe and her children are.

Finally, once Sethe is able to accept the fact that she is her own best thing, she has met peace and is able to move forward. Moments leading up to this Sethe is heartbroken, she says “She left me.”… “She was my best thing”(321). In this sentence, Sethe is referring to Beloved, who left her, and the heartbreak in losing what she considers her best trait. However Pual D. confronts her he tells her: “ You your best thing, Sethe. You are”(321).  This ending of being confronted with the fact that she is not her daughter, but is also worthy of having her own identity culminates the novel in a heroic way of her overcoming her trauma and finally freeing herself.

Morrison’s powerful message about the loss of identity is intricately woven throughout Beloved, which mirrors many realities today. For example, the burdens of motherhood, and exceedingly high expectations are placed on women today. While this only hits the tip of the iceberg on Sethe’s experience as both a survivor of sexual assault and slavery.  The novel is in many ways a radical way to view the loss of individuality and purpose that women lose when they give birth. Sethe’s trauma from slavery can be seen as she tries to find meaning and purpose away from her children she finally finds this purpose, and identity when she is able to realize that she is her own best thing.