Beloved as a demonic force.
Morrison opened my eyes to the thought of Beloveds presence as source of evil and revenge. I read into Trudier Harris work, Beloved, Woman, Thy Name is Demon, and his thoughts provoked my own even further. The novel, Beloved consists of powerful female characters that shape the idea of women as a figure to fear. I found through Harris work that this is not the first time Morrison has depicted a woman as demonic. Morrison draws inspiration through her own previous novels stating, I had been rescuing (the dead girl) from the grave of time and inattention. Her fingernails maybe in the first book; face and legs, perhaps the second time. Little by little bringing her back into living life (Harris 130). The main character in the novel, Beloved, provides us with the best examples of Morrisons use of demonic personas. Through this review of Morrisons and Harris work I plan to explore deeper the impact that Beloveds demon-like character had upon the other characters in the story, particularly with masculine presence, and follow more closely her transformation from a ghostly presence into a human being. The character of Beloved is a complex one. Beloved is the daughter of Sethe, the sister of Denver and the spirit of 124. Her presence begins in the haunting of the house 124. The ghostly presence of Beloved came about due to her murder by her mother, Sethe. Beloved makes her presence known early on in the novel. From the choking of Sethe in the cornfield to the mysterious occurrences within 124, Beloveds ghostly existence is apparent early on. The plot begins to really unfold when Beloved makes her self-known in human existence. Beloveds character is easily seen as demonic through her ways of transformation and the symbolism that follows. Her body as a spirit endowed enough fear
in Sethes boys for them retreat to war and leave 124 forever. Morrison uses Beloveds physical body as a source of revenge and punishment to put upon the surrounding characters, noticeably in their masculine form. Beloved is placed in Sethes life for payback of the nurturing lost at her death; she is a sexually draining demon in regards to Paul D and pure demon to the rest of the community involved. Beloveds encounters with Paul D are powerful when interpreting the concept of woman as evil. Harris brings forth the idea that Beloveds female spirit drains the male life force even as she drains him of his sperm (Harris 132). It is through Paul D and Beloveds sexual encounters that Beloved takes control over Paul Ds conscious and by doing so drives him farther and farther from her newly claimed territory, 124. Her sexual influence physically moves Paul D, first to a rocking chair then to Baby Suggss keeping room and finally to the cold house outside. Paul Ds final departure from 124 proves that Beloveds body was used to drain Paul D both physically and emotionally. Paul D falls into a state of virtually the living dead. Beloveds power to drain is shown through the scene of a broken Paul D sitting at the base of a churchs steps, liquor in hand, and stripped of his pride. His guilt of sex with Beloved succumbs him into a state of surrender to Beloveds hellish ways. This is so crucial because it is the sexual relationship that Paul D had with Sethe that was his healing grace and definition of his manhood, that being stripped from him was enough to exorcise him from his source of comfort in the world, Sethes love. Beloveds biggest target of revenge is at Sethe, her murderer and mother. Beloved starts with attacking Sethes source of power, motherhood. Sethe is said to be as strong as any man (Harris 133), her strength is shown through her perseverance to save her children from slavery (even if that means the death of one) and through the miraculous birth of
Denver in the woods. The character of Sethe has many unique masculine characteristics that Beloved targets. That being said, Beloveds war against Sethe, can be read from one perspective as a further attack against masculine privilege, against the power over life and death that is stereotypically identified with males or with those masculine mother/goddesses (Harris 134). Sethes unique masculine individualism is apparent within her community too, many think of her as too proud and basically too good for the neighbors. She never seeks any sort of help until the arrival of Beloved. Beloved aims to attack that form of masculine independence that makes Sethe an individual. She aims to drain Beloved of all masculine type qualities; she literally drains Sethe clean of any power to support herself. Sethe weakens into a deathly state both physically and psychologically. Sethe becomes weak from the lack of control over her own body and her own destiny, leading to a permanently weakened state of consciousness. Beloved proves her power throughout the novel. She makes it known of her wants, her needs and her intentions. Her demonic presence is shown through her innate ability to come and go as she pleases. We come to a clear understanding by the end of the novel that Sethe and Beloved cannot live in the presence of one another; one of them must go. Her demonic ways of destroying masculinity is ultimately driven out of the community for if Beloved were to stay she would eventually destroy them all.
Andrews, William L & Nellie Y. Mckay. Toni Morrisons Beloved: a Casebook. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Random House, Inc., 1987, 2004. Print.
