Truth is amorphous and hard to nail down. Fortunately for Beloved and Denver, Stamp Paid plainly doles out the truth to Paul D. However, for Paul D., the truth comes at an unfortunate time in his stay with Sethe at 124. Paul D has trouble accepting the fact that Sethe murdered her child, and once he accepts the truth from Stamp Paid, he seems to reject Sethe as a companion.
Paul D. moves to the church which could be interpreted as a desperate reach for redemption or holiness, something he feels he lacks after living with Sethe for so long. Paul D. is clearly "losing it" as he holds "his wrist between his knees...because he had nothing else to hold onto" (257-258). His long held idea of Sethe as a friend, mother, and fellow Sweet Home member were shattered only shortly after they were finally reunited. His life and control is quickly slipping away from him.
Just as Sethe was only granted 28 days before the "men without skin" came to bring her back to Sweet Home, Paul D was only given a short time to enjoy a "normal" life with Sethe and Denver. The ghost (Beloved) of 124, and the ghosts of Paul D.'s past, which he had kept packed tightly in his tin-box chest, begin tormenting him to the point of no return.
Paul D. can't return to 124, nor can he return to the artificial complacency he had built for himself by suppressing his feelings and memories of the past. Everything we do catches up with us, and at this point in Beloved, it seems everything is catching up with Paul D. If he hadn't found out the truth about Sethe, would they all have been better off? Is ignorance really bliss? Or is the truth always necessary, even when it can hurt people that care about you and that you care about?
I think for Paul D, ignorance is bliss. As he and Beloved share the scene where she tells about the men taking her milk, they tell each other a lot. But Paul D acknowledges that some stories should remain secret. He doesn't tell Sethe his whole story for fear of giving her grief. Given this, Paul D would prefer to live without the painful truth; he's life has been shaped by the painful truth at Sweet Home and now he wants to escape it.
ReplyDeleteI think that if Paul D had not found out the truth in that moment that it would have come out in the long run. Sure, the truth is disturbing. Sethe attempted to murder her own children to save them from the ruthlessness of slavery. Although, it would not make a difference if she told him when she did, or if he somehow found out in the future. I believe that Paul D is going through a form of PTSD triggered by Sethe's story of trying to kill her children. All of his past memories from slavery were released from his memory and now he has to cope with how he is feeling. I believe that he will come back to Sethe though and live with her in 124.
ReplyDeleteAt first I didn't like Paul D because of what he said after the two had sex. However, I was really rooting for Paul D and Sethe after he took her to the carnival. If he wouldn't have left after she told him the story then I think they would have worked out. However, Paul D is a hypocrite because he slept with the reincarnation of Sethe's dead daughter and tried to play it off and not tell her. Him sleeping with Beloved is more messed up or just as messed up as Sethe trying to kill her children. At least her actions are somewhat justifiable but his are not. He is a coward and doesn't deserve Sethe.
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