She does not possess a personal history or familial relations, but is a woman with aquatic origins whose existence is predicated on having merely “walked out of the water” (60). Upon being first introduced in the novel, Beloved is directly connected to the water. It is through recognizing the differing uses of water and liquid within Beloved that one is able to better understand the novel’s various characters and the ways in which components of their lives are as seemingly uncontrollable as the water used to describe them.įor Sethe and Beloved, water represents the concepts of birth, renewal, and clarity.
While this theme of liquidity is pervasive throughout the text, its symbolism shifts between light and darkness, life and death. In numerous instances, bodies of water, such as streams and rivers, not only serve as the primary locations in which characters undergo significant experiences, but also function as entities whose attributes are used to describe and convey the characters themselves.
In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, one of the motifs that stood out to me is that of liquid.
Exploring Feminism through the word Erotic November 3, 2021.Chivalry: More than a Shiny Helmet November 3, 2021.War and Women: 1930s England November 3, 2021.James Baldwin’s Interview with Robert Penn Warren November 3, 2021.
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