Digging for Stories

In Toni Morrison's Beloved, Beloved emerges out of the water in a mystical and ethereal fashion. Besides being fascinated and surrounded by water and things that are wet, little is known about her in chapters five and six. Naturally, when I was reading through the story trying to decipher Beloved as a character, I came across a passage about storytelling that caught my eye.

"It became a way to feed her. Just as Denver discovered and relied on the delightful effect sweet things had on Beloved, Sethe learned the profound satisfaction Beloved got from storytelling" (69).

The role of stories in Beloved is important because Beloved, although a young woman, is portrayed like a child. It is customary for parents, teachers, and other adults to read stories to children to expand their knowledge of the world and to enhance the growth of the brain in a critical phase of development. In Beloved, Beloved absorbs these stories much like a young child would. This is especially evident in Morrison's use of the phrase "delightful effect" and "profound satisfaction" because the effect of stories on Beloved is greater than just listening and observing. In addition, Morrison's description of Beloved being fed by the stories is powerful because it suggests that she would not be able to function or survive without the stories. Further, an adult listening to a story would not necessarily be as deeply effected by a story told from a stranger. Hence, while it is not entirely clear yet why Beloved acts in a childlike way, her affinity for stories clues the reader in to the fact that she is not a normal young adult woman.

In addition to this passage, Beloved also refers to stories as diamonds, which further emphasizes the value she puts on the stories she hears. Diamonds are extremely valuable monetarily but also have a sparkly and shiny feature that makes them seem like treasure. Therefore, Beloved references the stories as pieces of treasure.

As I continue to read about Beloved, I will be on the lookout for details about her childlike characteristics. The last line of chapter six left me with shivers running down my spine; watching this story unfold is like taking a shovel and digging for buried treasure. Maybe Beloved and I have this in common.