Hi there! I was wondering if anyone familiar with Beloved by Toni Morrison might be able to help me out with a specific question I have about the story; I have tried to find an answer online but so far am not really having much luck via reading guides, summaries, etc.
The question I have is: Why does it take Sethe so long to realize that Beloved is her dead daughter? We learn before Beloved arrives that Sethe, in her fog of despair, only heard two words at the burial: “Dearly Beloved,” and took that to be her daughter’s name. Not being able to afford to have “Dearly Beloved” engraved on the tombstone, she chose just one: Beloved.
Based on this, I thought that as soon as the strange girl Sethe, Denver, and Paul D encountered in the yard coming home from the carnival said that her name was Beloved, Sethe would immediately know who she is. Instead, Denver is the only one who figures it out, and she keeps it to herself. Meanwhile, it takes Sethe most of the rest of the book to put it together. I’d understand why Sethe didn’t realize who she was had she not said her name was Beloved, but that was one of the first things she said to them. I kept expecting there would be some revelation about either the supernatural nature of Beloved’s being there or the crazy-making fog of trauma and grief that explained it, but if there was one I must have missed it. Any ideas? (Thanks in advance!)
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by venusianfurs