Hey all! I’m back again for another installment in my series of Beloved blogs.
In what seems to be her true style, Toni Morrison has yet again waited for what seems like an eternity to develop characters to a point in which a reader can fully comprehend the plot (or at least to a point where I can understand what’s going on). But back to the main topic of this particular blog post. What do I know about the book at this point? I left off last time with a seeming increase in the romance between Paul D Garner and Sethe (quickly just another interesting point, I determined today that this name was pronounced Seth-a). By the conclusion of this section of the book, one can determine that the relationship between the two is completely destroyed, as Paul D just leaves the house and Sethe. Why did Paul D leave? Well to start, Sethe and him have this seemingly simultaneous flashback to the time that four white slave trappers came to the 124 residence to seize the family of Sethe. In this whole flashback deal, the reader learns that Sethe, while she is at the 124 residence with the four men incident, happens to kill one of her four children. She tried to kill Denver, but Stamp Paid stopped her from this terrible act. Paul D didn’t know about the killing of children prior to this series of flashbacks. However, you wouldn’t believe who this dead child is! It’s Beloved! Just to clarify all of this, Toni Morrison has used magical realism to create the seemingly real character of Beloved. Beloved is Denver’s sister, so yes, Sethe’s daughter. That shakes things up a little bit, as the interactions between Paul D and Beloved (for those who didn’t read the past blog post, those two had sex), a little worse. Well there’s the plot update.
Other areas of the novel also developed during this last section, most importantly the motif of milk, particularly that of a mother. In this particular section of the book, there is a rather gruesome breastfeeding scene, where Morrison focuses in on the bloody nipple of Sethe. What this triggered in my mind, was a personal recognition of the connection between the bloody nipple and Sethe’s somewhat bad relationship with her children (as two have run away, she killed one, and Denver is a complete mess). This proves to be ironic, because as Sethe’s children continue to want to get away from her (maybe minus the magical version of Beloved), but other people continue to want to steal the milk of Sethe. One would think that this relationship would be reversed completely. So apart from this whole motif of milk, I guess I’m lost on some level. I’m struggling to figure out what Toni Morrison wants this work to mean as a whole. Does Morrison put focus on the raising of children because she wants to highlight just how disenfranchised Blacks were because of slavery? Or is Morrison throwing race out the window (unlikely, based on the content of Song of Solomon), and putting more of a “one must love and respect their family” kind of theme. I guess only time will tell.
Thanks for reading again!
Dom
This Paul D wouldn't be THE Pauly D, right? Interesting how milk seems to be a motif in Morrison's novels, having also appeared in S.O.S. There's also more awkward familial romance in this novel. Seems like there's a lot of plot ends that need to be tied, and many questions still seeking answers. I'll have to check your next post to see how this develops.
ReplyDeleteI think you're getting close to some of the ideas of the novel when you discuss the effect of slavery. Consider that earlier in the novel, Morrison describes how Sethe's milk had been stolen from her by the men. Mother's milk generally represents compassion, connection, a bond. However, the meaning is subverted by this act of theft, which, as you've noted, seems to create problems in Sethe's relationships with her children. For me, this raises the question of whether one can ever escape slavery.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness... Words cannot describe how glad I am to NOT be reading this book. I mean.... a bloody nipple? How typical of Toni Morrison to try to be as unpleasant as possible. I wonder what her planning process was like for these novels: "hmm... what can I add to the story? A drunk person peeing on other people? Sure! A woman breastfeeding her five year old son? Absolutely. Killing children and breastfeeding with bloody nipples? Oh gotta have that one!"
ReplyDeleteOkay, my Toni Morrison rant is over. I do want to say though that I obviously recognize that she is a terrific writer, and deserving of all the credit that she has received.
Anyway, nice post, Dom. I thought your conversational style made it fun and easy to follow. When you mentioned the raising of children having to do with black disenfranchisement, can you explain that a bit? Forgive me if I didn't quite follow (and perhaps it would be easier to understand if I were reading the book, so it's not necessarily on you, just curious that's all). Also, since race/racism is such a big part of Toni Morrison's stories (at least from what we've read), do you think she writes these stories with the thought that they will stand out (because of their "unique" content) and therefore the lessons in them will stick with people longer? I don't know, just a thought.