In many pieces of literature, when water is mentioned, it often symbolizes some type of birth or rebirth. Similarly in Beloved by Toni Morrison the scene(and the many following) in which a women is exiting a body of water can be seen as a parallel to birth of a child earlier in the novel. This scene begins with, "A fully dressed woman walked out of the water"(60). This description can be compared to a child being born in which it leaves the mother's womb. Later the woman is described to have difficulty holding up her head almost like a baby, "Her neck, its circumference no wider than a parlor-service saucer, kept bending and her chin brushed the bit of lace edging at her dress"(60).
Although it may be a stretch of an idea, the woman(Beloved) who suddenly appears at their home may be a kind of reincarnation of the murdered baby. She may even be the baby herself who came back. Morrison brilliantly describes this scene with only essential details for the reader to compare the new character to the old.
I agree that the water in Beloved symbolizes some type of birth. Interestingly, Mr. Heidkamp mentioned that water is also associated with death. I wonder if these water scenes foreshadow someones death or will act as the context for death later on in the novel.
ReplyDelete