Emotional Trauma In Beloved
In the novel Beloved, the author Toni Morrison demonstrates how the past, when not dealt with, can have a negative and stunting effect on the future. By constructing a narrative that allows for the past, present, and future to intertwine, Morrison illustrates how each time period is not an isolated entity because of the existence of memories. Throughout the novel, the characters work to suppress the past due to the horrific events that occurred in slavery. However, through this active avoidance of coming to terms with the trauma of the past, the characters are incapable of fully claiming their freedom and their future. Morrison, through the unsuccessful coping mechanism of suppression, constructs a narrative that reveals the truly horrific
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In an attempt to protect herself, but more importantly, to protect Denver from the horrors of slavery, Sethe states, “The future was a matter of keeping the past at bay… As for Denver, the job Sethe had of keeping her from the past that was still waiting for her was all that mattered” (51). Sethe is trapped in 124, haunted by her grief, and isolated from the community due to her inability to acknowledge the trauma of her memories and work through the pain of slavery. Deprived of her future, Sethe must, “worry, for example, about tomorrow, about Denver, about Beloved… her brain was not interested in the future. Loaded with the past and hungry for more, it left her no room to imagine, let alone plan for the next day” (83). Sethe cannot plan for the future because she is so concerned with the repetition of the past such as the term “rememory.” Morrison confirms the inability of Sethe to move forward in her life through the inability to start a family with Paul D. When Paul D mentions his desire to have a baby, Sethe thinks, “She was frightened by the thought of having a baby once more. Needing to be good enough, alert enough, strong enough, that caring – again… Lord, deliver me. Unless carefree, motherlove was a killer,” showing that she cannot move past the emotional trauma of murdering Beloved to begin again
In an attempt to protect herself, but more importantly, to protect Denver from the horrors of slavery, Sethe states, “The future was a matter of keeping the past at bay… As for Denver, the job Sethe had of keeping her from the past that was still waiting for her was all that mattered” (51). Sethe is trapped in 124, haunted by her grief, and isolated from the community due to her inability to acknowledge the trauma of her memories and work through the pain of slavery. Deprived of her future, Sethe must, “worry, for example, about tomorrow, about Denver, about Beloved… her brain was not interested in the future. Loaded with the past and hungry for more, it left her no room to imagine, let alone plan for the next day” (83). Sethe cannot plan for the future because she is so concerned with the repetition of the past such as the term “rememory.” Morrison confirms the inability of Sethe to move forward in her life through the inability to start a family with Paul D. When Paul D mentions his desire to have a baby, Sethe thinks, “She was frightened by the thought of having a baby once more. Needing to be good enough, alert enough, strong enough, that caring – again… Lord, deliver me. Unless carefree, motherlove was a killer,” showing that she cannot move past the emotional trauma of murdering Beloved to begin again