Theme of Motherhood in Beloved by Toni Morrison Essay Sample

Based on the true story of Margaret Garner, Beloved, by Toni Morrison, explores the role of a black mother living in the United States during the pre-civil war era. For people of color, motherhood, already a massive undertaking, was only made more difficult due to slavery and the racism they faced in society. For Sethe, this could not be more evident, forced into a situation to choose between the life of her kids or allowing them into the system that plagued her memory. By writing Sethe’s story in this way, Morrison seems to suggest that black motherhood was impossible during the slavery era.

Sethe's experiences with motherhood start with her life as a child in slavery. Her mother had almost all but left her memory. When describing her mother, Sethe mainly talks about the absence of her mother from her life: "By the time I woke up in the morning, she was in line. If the moon was bright they worked by its light. Sunday she slept like a stick” (Morrison, 30). This absence of her mother affected Sethe. When further pressed by Denver and Beloved about her mother, Sethe replies with short, concise remarks: "She never fixed my hair nor nothing. She didn't even sleep most nights in the same cabin..." (Morrison, 30). The phrase 'nor nothing' gives off a tone of resentment, reminiscent of how parents tell their kids to stop complaining: We had nothing when I was growing up. The word 'even' suggests feelings of disappointment towards her mother, echoing the resentment. Furthermore, Sethe remembers more about Nan, a slave who took care of her, than her mother. Her mother was not even worth the memory, any space in her mind. The only vivid memory she had of her mother, other than her absence, was when her mother showed her the mark that she had under her breast. For Sethe, the only connection she had to her mother was that mark on the body. This helps explain her unimaginable choice to kill her daughter and hurt her sons. Sethe did not want her kids to have the mother that she had. She felt haunted by the memory of her absence and did not want to be the same mother who allowed their kids to experience the horror of slavery. She did not want to be remembered only by a mark on a body. For Sethe, by taking the initiation over the lives of her children, she was able to maintain not only her freedom and liberty but those of her children as well. This demonstrates a paradox that enslaved people experienced, faced between two impossible decisions. Thus, proving the impossibility of motherhood that Morrison suggests throughout her novel.

Later in the book, this paradox is repeated again. As a mother, Sethe has many lessons she wants to teach her children. Watching her mother become a shell of her former self, Denver remembers some of the lessons her mother tried to instill in her.

anybody white could take your whole self for anything that came to mind. Not just work, kill, or maim you, but dirty you. Dirty you so bad you couldn’t like yourself anymore. Dirty you so bad you forgot who you were and couldn’t think it up. And though she and others lived through and got over it, she could never let it happen to her own. (Morrison 125)

The imagery of being dirtied symbolizes the loss of freedom that happens when being enslaved. Sethe wants to protect her children from this, stating that: "Whites might dirty her all right, but not her best thing" (Morrison 125). To Sethe, freedom is not just a luxury that people have but a part of your identity. Sethe also claims that her children are the only freedom in her life, the only “part of her that was clean” (Morrison 125). This connects back to her thoughts about her mother. In Sethe’s eyes, her mother had been fully tainted. By letting her child suffer in slavery, failing to keep the freedom of her child, she had failed to keep that part of herself clean. As a result, she was ‘dirtied’: nothing more than a memory that no one can remember. Sethe does not want to make the same mistakes, in her eyes, that her mother did, even telling Paul D that she did her job as a mother after the incident (Morrison 82). However, killing your child is not an act of a caring parent, which Paul D emphasizes. This further goes to show how impossible being a black mother was during the slavery era.

The bond between mother and child is one of the strongest relationships, but sometimes that bond can be too strong. Paul D once described motherly love as “dangerous”. His fear of Sethe’s love for her children is realized as he hears the news of Sethe’s actions. Appalled, he confronts Sethe when she returns from the jailhouse. During their confrontation, Paul D calls Sethe a “bitch” and tells her that they got “two feet...not four” (Morrison 82). To Paul D, Sethe is no longer a civilized human being, but a dog, a wild animal. Sethe calmly responds with logic, stating that it is her job to “keep them away from what I know is terrible” (Morrison 82). Her replies are simple and inarguable, and even Paul D can do nothing but walk away. This directly contrasts the imagery of an uncivilized, dehumanized, person. However, when the “four horsemen” arrive, Sethe’s thoughts are instantaneous and impulsive: “And if she thought anything, it was No. No. Nono. Nonono. Simple. She just flew” (Morrison 82). The short “no”, followed by the repetition of that word, suggests a very instinctual train of thought, similar to an animal’s fight or flight response. She does not seem to be thinking, further emphasized by the fact that she “just flew”. The word “flew” alluding to birds and other flying animals. This animal imagery contradicts her behavior afterwards when confronted by Paul D. This suggests that only after killing her daughter, Sethe realized her actions and tried to justify something that cannot be defended. Her motherly love had turned her into an untamed animal, dehumanized her. This suggests that Sethe’s choices were irrational and close to barbaric. Yet, her other options were no better. Letting her kids be enslaved and going down the same path as her mother was one of the things that haunted Sethe throughout her life. Sethe is stuck between a rock and a hard place, neither option forgiving or better than the other. Thus supporting Morrison’s point about black motherhood.

Black motherhood is not, and should not, be impossible. But, during the slavery era, it was, leading to generations of trauma that afflicts the descendants of slaves to this day. Even though slavery has long been abolished, we still see the same pattern of trauma. Stories of families broken up by the prison system and the struggles families face in poverty are all too common in the African-American diaspora. Although not to the same extent, present society is still set up against the black minority. In a way history is repeating itself. This book helps us to understand that things really have not changed, especially for black families who suffer from poverty and incarceration.