Sethe's Parenthood
Although Sethe puts all of her effort into being the best parent she can, she never seems to get the result she wants or deserves. The first example of this in the timeline of her life, is when she and her family make an escape plan to fell from sweet home. Sethe completes all of the duties required of her for the plan, but when she goes to meet Halle he is nowhere to be seen. Because of this, Sethe has to send her sons out alone and returns to Sweet Home where she gets whipped. There are many instances throughout the novel where Sethe does everything she can, yet other people and her luck both fail her.
The most obvious example is when Sethe is at 124, and she encounters Schoolteacher after being there for only 28 days. Here she tries to kill her children to save them from slavery and also to prevent schoolteacher from having more slave labor. From this, she faces many negative consequences even though she possibly made the best decision possible. First, she loses a large part of who Baby Suggs is. She becomes depressed, and no longer is the energetic community speaker/preacher. Eventually, she even passes away. Sethe is also left with the spirit of her baby in her home. This has many consequences, including that she loses both of her sons. Her actions also had immediate consequences. Sethe was put in prison and shunned by the community. Even decades after she did what she thought was best for her children, Paul D gets upset with her for her actions.
There are many other examples where Sethe tries to do the best thing for her children, yet ends up in a sub-optimal place. When Beloved shows up at 124 Sethe accepts her into her home and treats her well. She sees that she is a good friend for Denver to have. She also starts to notice that Beloved is her dead daughter's ghost in real life. Sethe feels she has to make it up to her by treating her well, but she ends up becoming obsessive in fulfilling all of Beloved's wants. To the point where she can't support her family anymore and Denver is forced to find work. There are numerous other examples where Sethe has good intent, and most of the time even makes good decisions but is countered with bad outcomes. This leaves the question, why does it happen to Sethe like this?
I really liked how you point out that Sethe's sacrifice in her parenthood doesn't always work out the way she plans. I think this is probably because the fact that Sethe and her family are trapped in the tragic and exploitative system of slavery, which doesn't respect or even consider parent-child relationships. And so for Sethe, her parenthood is expressed through the sacrifice and efforts she makes, rather than the outcome because that's not in her control due to the fact that slavery doesn't respect her emotions and bonds. Great job on this post!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I love your analysis of Sethe as a loving mother, who does what she personally thinks is best for her children, in very adverse circumstances. Her whole family has been through so much, and it's also hard to characterize Beloved as 'bad' or 'good' when she, too, is a victim of the tragic system.
ReplyDeleteYour theory that Sethe's luck is impaired and generally bad is apt. However, I find the concept of luck in this book to be nonexistent. I believe every event that occurs in this book is a product of the systemic institution of slavery and racism within America. Sethe did not have luck, she simply had to respond to the situations that arose around her, as tragic as that is. I agree that Sethe prioritized her children over everything else, and sadly, things did not work out as we wished. Good job on this post!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I like how you've outlined each of the negative outcomes of Sethe's decision to kill Beloved. I think that a big part of the novel, and also Sethe's decision in the first place, is that even though she has experienced all these horrible things after the fact, she still would have made the same decision, because no matter what, anything is better than being forced back into slavery.
ReplyDeleteI really like your post. I think a big part of Beloved revolves around freedom and the past. Even though Sethe has escapes Sweet Home, the past still follows her and informs her actions. IT probably will forever.
ReplyDeleteHi Lukas, you made some really great points in this blog post! In regard to your question about why in situations when "Sethe has good intent, and most of the time even makes good decisions but is countered with bad outcomes", I think that it is not Sethe's "bad luck" but rather the events and consequences of being a black, female slave living through slavery and systematic racism. I think that this really hits at why Sethe's story is so tragic and heartbreaking: she does everything right and still it is not enough. In many ways Sethe's story makes me think of the character of Bigger, both individuals choose the "best" and "correct" choice the majority of the time (I'm not going to get into the Bessie situation) and still they suffer because of racism in our country.
ReplyDeleteSethe's ability to parent is severely constrained by the context of chattel slavery, to put it mildly. It reminds me of Halle's "breaking point," as interpreted by Paul D: in that loft, watching his wife be assaulted by the mossy-teethed boys, we imagine that he's grasping with galling clarity just how limited his role as "father" or "husband" is by the context of slavery. He grasps the limitations on his freedom and the implications of bondage in a particularly stark way here, and the ways that Sethe's ability to be a parent is affected by slavery are similar. An escape plan like this would be extremely risky and hazardous for a person acting alone--it's incalculably more risky to send young children on the ordeal (alone!), or to try to give birth midway through. These are just the most obvious ways that Sethe doesn't have average parenting issues to contend with.
ReplyDeleteHello Lukas, nice post! She can never really get the result she wants, but it's not by coincidence. The effects of slavery still affect her negatively which is the reason for her not getting the correct results, even after she has escaped Sweet Home. I think this book and your post does a great job of showing how slavery still affected escapees. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I do agree that Sethe does not seem to get the best luck or outcome of the cards she is dealt. It is interesting to look through the eyes of today's parenthood, but Sethe was dealing with nearly unimaginable situations. The decisions she made may not have always been black or white justified, but I think everything she did just proves how powerful her love is for her children, as she was willing to do anything to save and protect them at all costs. Great job!
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ReplyDeleteGreat job! I agree that Sethe was forced into practically the worst scenario possible, and did the best she could with what she was given. Even though the decisions she had to make along the way were morally questionable, she always stayed true to her values of love and preservation. Her actions come off as shocking to the average person, but that's because her life is everything but average. Good post.