Paul D and Sethe have very differing ideas of safety. Their ideas are most clearly shown while they are discussing what Sethe did to Beloved. In order to keep beloved out of the clutches of Schoolteacher, Sethe slit Beloved's infantile throat with a handsaw. She was about to do the same to Denver but she was saved by Stamp Paid, who came in and ran away with Denver.
Paul D believes that killing Beloved was the wrong course of action for Sethe to take. He believes that she would've been better off as a slave. Of course Sethe believes the opposite, and thinks that beloved would've been happier dead. Both of these options, are horrifying. There is no clear answer as to which of these alternatives is better. The fact that both of these options are so terrible makes the argument that there is no completely safe route that Sethe can take.
There is no right course of action between letting your daughter into a life of slavery, or not letting her live to see it. Paul D could not live with the reality of this decision, with the reality that there was no good outcome in that scenario. So he left Sethe and Denver.
I agree that there is no right course of action, but I don´t think it was right for Paul D to tell Sethe what she should have done or scold Sethe for her actions. Paul D doesn´t have kids, so how can he be sure of what he would have done in the situation? I think many, including me, cannot understand Sethe´s actions because they do not have kids.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, there was no decision for Sethe that could have ended well. However I think that she chose the better of two evils.
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