Thursday, April 4, 2019
Memories in Beloved
Even though I've only read two chapters of Beloved, I can already tell that memories are going to be a significant part of the novel. Toni Morrison has already introduced scenes from many different parts of Sethe's life. First, she remembers how her two sons, Howard and Buglar, ran away eight years ago...which leads her to think about the death of her baby daughter...which leads her to think about the deal she made with the engraver to have "Beloved" written on her baby's tombstone...which leads her to think about her time as a slave in Kentucky at Sweet Home. Sethe's life has been filled with disappointment, violence, cruel treatment, abandonment, and death. So little of her life has been good or fulfilling that she wishes she could forget all of the sadness she has experienced thus far. Morrison notes that Baby Suggs, who has had eight children and lost all of them, also attempts to forget her past because of how much she has suffered. However, as hard as Sethe and Baby Suggs try, their tragic pasts define who they are in the present, and they can't help but keep remembering their experiences.
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2 comments:
I very much agree, Lainey! As you noted, memories trigger more memories, which trigger even more memories. Unlike other works of literature we’ve read, this novel doesn’t simply toggle from the present to a flashback and back to the present. It’s more complicated than that. The series of events isn’t linear, but Morrison still manages to blend the memories seamlessly (in my opinion).
I also think it’s significant that most of the memories are tragic. Often times, it’s the natural inclination of humans to suppress painful memories, which is one of the reasons I think these memories keep flooding back to Sethe in such a violent way. Her life has been riddled with tragedy, sorrow, and sexual violence, among other things. She likely felt overwhelmed by all of her experiences and like any normal human, she couldn’t handle it all. Who could?
Morrison also uses memories as a tool to more intimately connect us to Sethe’s (and to other characters’) experiences. Each memory reveals a new emotion—fear, anger, regret, confusion, joy, etc. Some memories are a mix of emotions, and with each, we learn understand more and more about the characters in Beloved. So, I’ve learned to be careful before I judge a particular character, as I’ll likely learn more about the impetuses behind their actions.
I agree! Memories are inevitably crucial to the novel, and (as Jesse points out) I love how Morrison also explores how memories can be deceptive. At one point, Sethe recalls bodies hanging from the Sycamores, and the reader is told "Try as she might to make it otherwise, the sycamores beat out the children every time and she could not forgive her memory for that." This demonstrates how the beauty of other aspects of reality can make the haunting images easier to suppress.
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