Sethe is a Badass

Throughout a lot of the books I've read in English class, there's always been a pretty consistent theme; the women in the novels are weak and shallow characters. In the Great Gatsby we had Daisy who was too coward to leave her unhappy and unfaithful marriage for someone who actually loved her. This was because he was not beyond rich or to the social caliber she requires. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie didn't really develop until the end of the novel when she realizes what she deserves. She is brutally beaten physically and verbally by her second husband Jody, after being in a one sided and less than passionate marriage with her first husband Logan yet she stays in the marriage with Jody and doesn't speak up for herself. Obviously, he's her source of income and it's not easy to up and leave someone who is your main source of support but it was very hard to read and quite frankly infuriating watching him push her around with her not being able to say anything. (Side note: she does develop as a character and holds her own towards the end but the middle was a whole lot of her being pushed around)

Sethe is a badass. And that's just one part of what makes Beloved so good. She sticks up for herself and is an extremely empathetic and dynamic character which is so refreshing to read. One example from the text that shows those traits is when her and Paul D. are arguing about Beloved staying at Sethe's house, "I can't place it. It's a feeling in me." "Well, feel this, why don't you? Feel how it feels to have a bed to sleep in and somebody there not worrying you to death about what you got to do each day to deserve it. Feel how that feels. And if that don't get it, feel how it feels to be a colored woman roaming the roads with anything God made liable to jump on you. Feel that (80)".

I felt after reading that text that I should start clapping because not only was it written so real and well but it was also huge breakthrough moment of Sethe's character to me. The reader now sees how empathetic she is and how she doesn't take shit anything from anyone. Not only did she put Paul D. in his place but it showed the alliance between women in this novel. She watches out for Denver and Beloved and they both watch out for her in turn. That solidarity along with finally reading a book where the main female character is someone I'm rooting for, is why Beloved is so good.