After reading that Sethe had killed Beloved at first I was saddened and disgusted. That a mother could kill her child, especially Sethe. I thought that she of all the characters would stand by and do anything she could for her children, I honestly looked down on her as a mother.
But after I kept reading and let it sink in I feel like it had to have been a hard decision and maybe the best option.
I really had to envision myself as Sethe for a moment. A black enslaved woman, but above all she is a mother. After enduring all the hardships of slavery and more I feel that her motherly instincts kicked in, and she realized she had to do what was best for children. It makes sense that she felt the best way to save her children was to kill them.
While in such a drastically different world currently, it is hard to understand however, if I had children while a slave, I could not imagine raising my children to live a life of slavery. I am confident that it was not easy for Sethe to kill Beloved, but she did it to in a way save her children from the trauma and monstrosity that her life as a slave was. It was one of the strongest things Sethe has done, it was purely selfless and for the 'safety' of her child.
I agree with you. Not many people know that dying in slavery was actually a blessing. They would beat you down every single day for the rest of your life until you die anyway. So you were already in hell to begin with.
ReplyDeleteTheir was no remotely easy way out for her. Motherhood is something I will never be able to entirely understand, and so I definitely can't judge her actions, no matter how brutal they were. That's why I thought Paul D's attitude about it was (while his shock was deserved) uncalled for. He doesn't know what that situation is like at all.
ReplyDeleteIn murdering Beloved, Sethe was thinking entirely of her children. She did not show regard for her own well being. The act was indeed horrific but also selfless. In that sense, I think the ends justify the means. What's debatable is whether or not killing her children was the only way to protect them.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think that Daylen has an interesting thought about how Sethe put her child out of her misery before she has even been able to have to live through it. Being a slave would be terrible, and to save Beloved.
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