Friday, March 10, 2017
Beloved's Plans
When Denver saw the white dress with its arm around Sethe, she thought it must mean that the Baby Ghost had plans. After Paul D got rid of the Baby Ghost, it never returned, except Beloved arrived. It is clear that Beloved is a human embodiment of the Baby Ghost, even though Denver is the only one who realizes this. However, so far it is unclear really what Beloved's plans are. She has shown that she hates Paul D, possibly because he rid the house of her presence. Beloved starts moving where Paul D sleeps, and eventually forces him to have sex with her, which opens up his "tin can" of a heart, exposing the "red heart" inside. While it is not clear what her full intentions are, Beloved has begun to effect and control Paul D. Beloved also appears to love and obsess over Sethe, but at the clearing it is suspicious that she could have been the one choking Sethe. It is interesting because Sethe is believed to have murdered the baby by cutting its throat. Beloved has made herself a part of 124, as she was before in the form of the Baby Ghost, and no one seems to suspicious of her actions. Denver is the only one who realizes she is the Baby Ghost, but would do anything to keep her around. It is unclear of Beloved's plans so far, but Paul D and Sethe may be in trouble.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Beloved's plans go hand in hand with the gradual revelation of the past in that both are mysterious and become further developed slowly as the novel progresses. Also, we find out that Paul D was correct in concluding that Beloved was aroused by him. I believe that we will learn more not only about the past as the novel progresses, but also learn how the past relates to Beloved and her plans for the present. I find the scene with Denver and Beloved in the cold room somewhat confusing because Beloved sort of passes through time and disappears momentarily into the time of her as the Baby Ghost. She comes back because she says this is her place, and therefore she most likely has plans for 124 in the future, but we do not know her plans yet.
Paul D & Beloved's relationship is very interesting. Paul D realizes that Beloved is aroused by him and initially tries to resist her. However, he decides to have sex with Beloved which hinders his relationship with Sethe. This complicates things within the novel.
I'm not sure that Beloved really had plans. Of course the novel leads us to believe that she does. But this about it. If Beloved is the embodiment of the ghost, how could she make plans? She's dead and may not have even known she would come back to life. Perhaps I am thinking about it to literally.
Post a Comment