Implied Essence in Beloved

2102秦娟

In the novel, the recovery of an individual’s history parallels that of all slaves. Sethe and Beloved, both abandoned children who cry out for the missing ties with their mothers, represent all slave mothers and children. They also signify the longing of many African Americans for the missing ties with their cultural heritage in Africa. While Sethe’s experiences mirror the suffering of the “sixty million and more” slaves to whom Morrison dedicates this novel, Beloved represents those who are not even counted in the official numbers in slavery. Beloved’s life is not recognized; she does not even have a name. Her thirst for recognition and for her mother’s love suggest the necessity of recognizing forgotten people. By giving a body and a voice to the spirit of Sethe’s dead daughter, Morrison recognizes and recovers the forgotten people in the history of slavery.