Beloved: Identifying Characters to Gain Understanding

American cartoonist Berkeley Breathed spoke for many when he said, “I will go to my grave in a state of abject endless fascination that we all have the capacity to become emotionally involved with a personality that doesn't exist.” Toni Morrison must have also had this captivation with characters when writing her novel, Beloved, as she created such extraordinary and passionate characters that bring out many emotions of the reader. The protagonist of Beloved, Sethe, is such a complex part of the story that her character really pushes the audience to the threshold of feelings such as pity, frustration and pleasure. Molly Abel Travis agrees with Morrison to some extent in her article, “Beyond Empathy.” Travis believes one must feel for all characters and their struggles, but argues that the reader must not empathize with Sethe too much or risk losing the impact of the novel. Travis furthers her argument by suggesting that in fact even Morison does not want one to connect too deeply with the main character, and prevents this with a narrative distancing technique. Steven Daniels, however, has conquered Travis’ idea, as he believes in his article that the audience should not identify with Sethe but with Paul D instead. Daniels has made a strong point that Paul D is the character one must relate to if they wish to grasp the novel’s idea as a whole. Morrison’s in-depth side story of Paul D really adds perspective to the life of Sethe and is made clear with the use of imagery, point of view and language. One may argue that Paul D’s character only distracts the reader from feeling what they should for Sethe, but upon closer inspection, Paul D actually brings us closer to understanding Sethe as he plays a dividing role between where she came from and how she came to be.

Beloved sparks from the struggle of African-American slaves and focuses on the attempt to move on from their horrible past. It is difficult for these characters to move forward, especially as Morrison writes of a unique story: the troubling memories of the main character, Sethe, as she attempted to murder her children instead of sacrificing them to slavery. The meaning of Sethe’s actions could be misinterpreted by the reader as a heinous crime or a passionate act of love if it were not for Paul D’s character. He transforms our interpretation of Sethe and her actions with his thoughts and feelings towards her, and gives more meaning to Beloved than we ever considered.

Daniels recognizes that “When, near the end of Beloved, Paul D ‘wants to put his story next to’ Sethe’s (273)” (Daniels, 5), that he has really been doing this since the moment he arrived at 124. “Nothing ever dies” according to Sethe. Her past is bound to follow her wherever she goes, both mentally and physically. Sethe is constantly trying to protect Denver (and at one point, her other children) from the same fate she is suffering. Paul D forces Sethe to remember her dark past whether she wants to or not with his stories involving intense imagery. Throughout the novel, Paul D talks about memories involving Sethe’s husband (Morrison, 82), “Sweet Home”, “the iron bit” (Morrison, 83), and the rest of his history packed away in “the tin can inside his chest”. Although Sethe believes she does not want to hear it, “No thank you. I don’t want to know or have to remember that” (Morrison, 83), Paul D has sparked her rememory once again and is the force that causes Sethe to face the truth. The reader is still unable to empathize with Sethe at this point like Travis has explained, however, at least we know why Sethe’s present actions and thoughts are developing as so.
Sethe’s current struggles are also more thoroughly explained through Paul D’s point of view. Paul D not only has memories of Sethe growing up on “Sweet Farm” with him, but his own ordeals with slavery and getting to know Sethe as a woman now once more have taken its toll on him. Paul D was looking to settle down with Sethe, but when their paths collided, so did their pasts and that is a force stronger than most:
“And then she moved him. Just when doubt, regret and every single unasked question was packed away, long after he believed he had willed himself into being, at the very time and place he wanted to take root – she moved him. From room to room. Like a rag doll” (Morrison, 261).
Paul D wants to make a commitment and stay in Sethe’s life, but he realizes that it was their shared history that brought them together, not fate. He knows there is a great deal of suffering happening inside both their heads and their hearts and perhaps they will never be able to overcome that if they are in each other’s lives as constant reminders of the past. This story line is not meant to gain reader’s sympathy, as Travis would suggest, but actually help one gain insight on the story as a whole. As Daniels proposes:
“Paul D too, emerges as if from the past, first appearing in the novel as the continuation of a paragraph in which we are told first of Sethe’s efforts ‘to remember as close to nothing was safe’ and then shown ‘suddenly… Sweet Home rolling, rolling out before her eyes’ (6). But Paul D comes, as if out from the memory of Sweet Home, to present Sethe with an alternative future” (Daniels 8).
We are not supposed to empathize with the present hardships Sethe is having, just use Paul D’s point of view to recognize the opportunities that are available to change the story, but living in the past forbids this from happening. Paul D is making Sethe’s story more relatable.

The reader will be captivated by Morrison’s use of language for Paul D’s character. One will find that the words spoken by Paul D to Sethe either add closure to her thoughts or make her feel something entirely new; they are never just to be heard. This constantly changes our mind and identifications we may have with Sethe. In the last scene that Paul D and Sethe share together; he not only moves Sethe with his comforting words, but within the same words, leaves the reader wondering and without a conclusion:
“He leans over and takes her hand. With the other he touches her face. ‘You your best thing Sethe. You are.’ His holding fingers are holding hers. ‘Me? Me?’” (Morrison 322).
Daniels also follows up that, “It is on a note of loss more than relief and of uncertainty more than either that the novel ends… Morrison chooses to compound misunderstanding and unintended consequences with unanswered questions about the future” (Daniels, 18). Even when most of the novel involves foreshadowing of Beloved’s bitter goodbye, Paul D’s story is woven in to remind us of the past that has shaped not only these two main characters, but the entire black community they live in. If it were not for Paul D, the reader simply could not grasp the message of this novel because they would not understand that the actions of everyone in Beloved are really just reactions to their former life.

It may be debated that Paul D only serves as a distraction from Sethe’s story and is only a technique used by Morrison to prevent us from identifying too closely with Sethe. When looking closely at Beloved however, it is evident that Paul D is actually the reason that Sethe has these rememories in the first place! Travis would argue that Morrison uses narrative distancing to prevent us from gaining too much empathy for Sethe. Nevertheless, Daniels knows that Paul D is not this tool. In fact, Paul D serves as a relevant connection between Sethe’s past and the people she knew to her troubles escaping this in the present.

The powerful meaning behind Beloved is understood through the relationship of each character’s story. Though they rarely coexist throughout the novel or unite in the end to make an obvious message, they are placed side by side to reinforce each other and allow the reader to see the bigger picture. Most importantly, Paul D wants “to put his story next to [Sethe’s]” (Morrison 322). Paul D compels us to look beyond Sethe’s narrative and focus on the changes of all the characters. In a variety of ways such as imagery, point of view and language, Daniels wants the reader to view Paul D as not just another character in Beloved, but rather an extension of Sethe who influences her thoughts and actions. In doing so, Travis’ article still holds the truth that we will remain in a highly distant connection with Sethe. However, Daniels theory still persists, and it becomes clear that to ignore this important connection between Paul D and Sethe robs the reader of identifying with any character and gaining a better understanding of the novel.

Daniels, Steven V. "Putting "His Story Next to Hers": Choice, Agency, and the
Structure of Beloved." Texas Studies in Literature and Language 44.4 (2002): 349-67.
Print.

Morrison, Toni. Beloved: A Novel. New York: Vintage International, 1987. Print.
Travis, Molly Abel. "Beyond Empathy: Narrative Distancing and Ethics in Toni
Morrison's Beloved and J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace." Journal of Narrative Theory 40.2
(2010): 231-50. Print.