Isolation In Beloved

Beloved was a famous novel written by Toni Morrison. In the novel, Morrison narrated the strange things that happened at 124 Bluestone Road and the life of a former slave, Sethe. Sethe had four children but her daughter died from a throat cut before she escaped to Ohio. When she arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio, she lived in a haunted house with her daughter, Denver, her two sons, and her mother-in-law, Baby Suggs. However, by 1873, Sethe and Denver were the only people living in the house because Baby Suggs had passed away and Sethe’s two sons ran away from the family (Morrison 3). As the story continues, readers are introduced to Paul D, who was also a former slave from Sweet Home Farm and would eventually stay at 124 Bluestone Road (8). During his staying, Sethe began to recount her terrible memories of being a slave (20). At the meantime, Denver felt lonely because her mother was growing closer to Paul D and she realized nobody was willing to speak or play with her (17). Although Denver felt isolated, things began to change after she encountered Beloved and noticed she knew her mother’s past (69). Then, Denver concluded Beloved was
full of mystery. After reading chapters 1 to 6 of Beloved, I can argue the character, Beloved, is Sethe’s dead daughter. This is because Morrison has emphasized multiple times the condition of Beloved’s skin in the novel. For example, she said, “her skin was flawless” and “her feet were like her hands, soft and new” (62). Based on her descriptions of Beloved’s skin, Morrison seems to suggest Beloved’s skin was similar to an infant’s skin. This is an important clue to prove Beloved was Sethe’s daughter because her daughter died when she was an infant. Moreover, when Sethe confronted her secret past with Beloved, I became suspicious of how Beloved knew Sethe’s earrings, her diamonds, and the fact that her mother never fix her hair (75). I think it is difficult to believe how strangers will know a person’s secrets when they do not even meet him or her before. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider Beloved as Sethe’s dead daughter. Another question will raise if Beloved was indeed Sethe’s daughter.
For example, did Sethe’s daughter’s dead soul get into Beloved’s body or was it just a coincidence? From this question, I think the chance that Sethe’s daughter’s dead soul got into Beloved’s body is higher. This is because I have a friend who is born with spiritual eyes, which means she is able to see ghosts or spirits with her “third” eyes and the ghosts will notice she can see them and they may seek her for help. She told me having spiritual eyes cause her trouble and anxiety because she can never live peacefully like normal people and there is a great chance that a ghost will enter her body and occur her body forever. Therefore, from my friend’s experience with spiritual eyes, there is evidence to let me believe Sethe’s daughter’s dead soul seized Beloved’s
body.