Memories

In Beloved an important part of the way the book is written is the timeline. Changes in perspective and changes in time propel the story and add depth to the characters because the reader gets to see the world and certain events as each of the characters sees it and the reader gets to see the histories of the characters.
For instance, Sethe and Paul D both remember their time in Sweet Home when they are together in the present, but their memories are mostly kept separate. The reader is better able to understand their relationship now because we know how they met and lived together in Sweet Home. We are better able to understand their motivations and their struggles. The reader learns that Sethe remembers being the only woman there besides her Mistress and she remembers looking for freedom in the choices she made. Paul D remembers waiting for her decide which of the men she would marry and longing for her every day.
However, memories and the past are also important to the text because they are a source of pain for Sethe. While Denver and Beloved relish the stories and eagerly try to reconstruct the past events, Sethe feels trapped by them. She wishes that her mind would stop being able to handle everything she remembered. She says that she has no room in her head to think about the future because the past is overwhelmingly present in her head.
Time as something that heals and connects you, something of a mystery to discover, and something that confines you and holds you back is a major topic in this book.