At first read into the novel Beloved, many readers may seem satisfied with the notion that Beloved is merely just Sethe's baby's ghost taking a human form. Even the characters in the book seem to believe that Beloved is just a ghost transformed back into a human. However, at closer examination (and knowing how Toni Morrison seems to always leave a deeper meaning to characters and motifs in her novels), one really questions what Beloved is exactly.
It's clear that some may strongly agree that Beloved is just a physical representation of a ghost because the book explicitly states that. There is even textual evidence that Beloved could potentially be just a "regular" ghost taking shape in a "regular" human. For example, the fact that once Paul D appears into Sethe's life, Beloved's ghost magically disappears, and the house lacks its haunting qualities as a result. Also the fact that once the house seems to be rid of any sort of spiritual forces, Beloved (as a human) arrives onto the steps of 124.
But yet, there is textual evidence that refutes the idea that Beloved is just Sethe's baby's ghost taken human form. Take into consideration the passage when Beloved is recounting her past, and how she originally showed up onto the steps of 124. She mentions "men with no skin", and while yes, they are supposed to represent white men, couldn't these "men without skin", also represent skeletons? After all, skeletons literally don't have any skin. In addition, Beloved mentions dead men on her face. Again, yes, this could be symbolic of the millions of men and women that have died during the Middle Passage, but they also could represent the deceased spirits who have traveled to hell, purgatory, or the underworld. With this under consideration, what if Beloved is more than just a ghost? What if Beloved is something darker and more ghoulish, like a demon of some sort?
Similarly, what if Beloved isn't just a ghost or demon or spiritual force, but an embodiment of Sethe's traumatizing experiences as a slave and guilt for killing her baby girl? Even when taking into consideration the ending of the book when Beloved is getting bigger and bigger while Sethe is getting frailer and frailer. This simple statement could symbolize Sethe's guilt and trauma eating her up, and her inability to cope with them. As they get gain more control of not only her life, but also her thoughts, Sethe is seen getting weaker and unable to fight them any longer.
Essentially, Beloved could potentially be something much greater than just a ghost taking a human form. Beloved could really be anything, given the perspective of the situation and what you believe she is.
I totally agree! I literally have no idea who or what Beloved truly was and the end of the book did not help clear it up at all. When she first appeared, I totally thought that Beloved was Sethe's dead daughter incarnated, but I thought that something else had to up. Then, as the book went on, I didn't really know what to think about Beloved. I totally agree that Beloved could be more than a ghost or spirit of Sethe's daughter and I think that while she has some connection to Sethe in that way, there's something more. I like that you talked about all the different possibilities of Beloved's representation.
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