What is Beloved's Darkness?

In Toni Morrison's book, Beloved, slavery plays a key role in the formation of the story and how everything develops from when Paul D arrives at 124. The flashbacks of Sweet Home that are intertwined with the story help to create the background for each character and further complicate the characters' relationships with each other. On pg. 88, Beloved is sitting with Denver and they seem to be getting along very well. Out of the blue, Denver asks Beloved why here name is what it is. Beloved then talks about the place that we as a class categorized as purgatory. Then we brought up the idea of a slave ship. I am really drawn in by this idea. Morrison makes another connection between the book and slavery that is perfectly incorporated into the story. I simply thought this was pure genius. The Middle Passage highlights the horrors of slavery. Hundreds of people were packed together for weeks. Many died on the boats in chains.
This is a perfect portrayal of purgatory. People's lives were taken away. This was their waiting room. Their destination, in slavery, is hell. It is an amazing and tragic portrayal that I think highlights the brilliance of Morrison's writing and takes Beloved's "place of darkness" to a whole new level of dark.