Sethe's Identity In Beloved

Due to Sethe’s enslavement and immense regret of the past, she gives too much of herself to Beloved and loses her own sense of identity. When Sethe realizes that Beloved truly is the reincarnation of her infant daughter, she begins to lose the ability to differentiate between herself and her daughter. Sethe’s poor mental health and love for her daughter causes her to blur the line between herself and Beloved until she feels that they are a part of each other: “I am Beloved and she is mine. I see her take flowers away from leaves she puts them in a round basket the leaves are not for her… I would help her but the clouds are in the way how can I say things that are pictures” (248). When Sethe states that she is “Beloved and she is mine,” she is confirming that she still
She also sees Beloved almost as her property because Sethe still imagines her as an infant rather than a young woman. Sethe does not see Beloved as her own person, rather as an extension of her own soul. Sethe believes Beloved to be the better part of herself which is why Sethe wants the best for her. “The leaves are not” for Beloved in Sethe’s mind because she believes Beloved deserves the prettiest and most wonderful objects such as the “flowers.” Sethe feels the same helplessness around Beloved that she once felt when her milk was stolen because Sethe does not have any control over this situation either. She simply does whatever she can for Beloved in hopes that it is enough. Sethe performs these actions for Beloved because she regrets killing her, and she does not know how to communicate her guilt to Beloved. “The clouds” that are in the way are a physical representation of Sethe being unable to properly apologize and repent for her past mistakes. The “pictures” that she cannot put into words are her emotions, Sethe feels so much love for Beloved but she cannot emulate her feelings with