I thought Ella was a really well-written character in Beloved. I like how her story slowly unfolds. First we see her helping Stamp, then we see her sort of turn on Sethe after the infanticide, and then finally we see her return to try to “exorcise” Beloved. However, I also thought her reaction to the infanticide was almost hypocritical…or maybe worse. She herself refused to nurse her baby, letting it starve for five days and basically just letting it die. To me, it seemed like she did that out of spite toward her rapists. Maybe it was some deeper anguish that made her commit this act, though; perhaps she simply didn’t view the baby as hers since the white men impregnated her without her consent. I’m not really sure. On the other hand, Sethe deeply loved her children and killed Beloved to protect her from the horrors of Sweet Home and schoolteacher. In some ways it seems that Sethe’s act of infanticide was more righteous. Ella clearly doesn’t think so, as she shuns Sethe and expresses a very low opinion of her when Stamp pays Ella a visit about Paul D.
In the end, I’m not exactly sure what to think about Ella’s actions. Similar to so many other issues we’ve read about this year, I’m not even sure I'm in a position to judge Ella. (Or Sethe.) What do you guys think?
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