As we discussed in class, Margaret Garner was an enslaved African American woman who escaped in 1856 but was apprehended by U.S. Marshals under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Like Sethe, she killed one of her young daughters to save her from the evils of slavery.
In the novel, Paul D. berates Sethe for acting like a beast rather than person. However, Sethe responds that she was doing what she thought best for her child based on the information she knew.
Clearly the situation is complex and nuanced, and it presents a moral dilemma. Lucy Stone, an antislavery activist, said about Margaret, "Rather than give her daughter to that life, she killed it. If in her deep maternal love she felt the impulse to send her child back to God, to save it from coming woe, who shall say she had no right not to do so?"
Margaret knew the terrible, awful realities of slavery, and she especially feared for her half-black, half-white daughter, knowing that those evils could be compounded. She, like Sethe, felt that it was her duty to save her children from that kind of torture.
So, is there a right or wrong answer to what she did? Can we even answer that, since none of us have been close to being in that situation? What do you guys think?
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This is one of those questions that I don't really want to answer because I just don't know what to say. Clearly, as you said, it creates a very complex moral dilemma. But, I don't think it's my question to answer. As much as I can try to put myself in Margaret's shoes and understand her situation, I will never be able to. For this reason, I don't have the authority to make a call or create an opinion. More than anything, I don't have the power to form a judgment. I can't judge Margaret because I don't understand her situation or her background. Someone can list every single painful moment she has had to experience to me, and I still wouldn't be able to understand the emotions she felt.
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