The Memory of a Ghost
At the end of Beloved we get this weird semi-poetic section that can be very difficult to comprehend and seems almost out of place. It seems to be from Beloved’s perspective and goes forward to many years after the story ended, talking about how everyone ended up forgetting her and the fact that she even existed. She then talks about walking through their houses when they’re asleep, brushing their foreheads with her fingers and hiding whenever people wake up. It’s an extremely creepy picture to imagine but does seem to have a deeper message. I took it as Beloved representing unwanted or unpleasant memories from long in the past, which have been completely forgotten by the people who experienced them. The first people to forget were the ones who only heard about it, then the ones who actually witnessed it, then those people who actually experienced it, and finally are the ones who had an emotional connection to the event. Nobody actually wants to remember the event that happened, they just want to move on with their lives like it hadn’t occurred. But occasionally it comes back to them. They see a reflection in the river, and it reminds them of what happened. But people quickly forget again, wishing for whatever happened to just get buried by history. They don’t remind anyone about it, don’t tell the story, they just want it to be something of the past. As the book puts it “It was not a story to pass on”.
And eventually they truly forget Beloved, or the event that she represents. It seems like it was only an unpleasant dream. Though occasionally they will wake from a deep sleep, almost but not quite remembering what once was. Only in their sleep does the event exist anymore, hiding in the deepest parts of their unconscious minds. Sometimes they’ll get a bad feeling from staring at something too long. The feeling that something bad was associated with that object, but not quite being able to remember what it was. They could try to figure it out, but they always feel like they will regret it if they do end up remembering. Vague effects from the event are left behind, like footprints in the bank of the river. And if people trace those footprints back, figure out what they mean, they will remember. Other than that, all memory of the event is gone. Lost to the annals of history.
The whole passage shines a new light on Beloved’s character. Portraying her more as the idea of a bad memory than a character herself. It almost turns the book into a metaphor about dealing with regret, and how it eats away at you like a parasite. Parts of it seem almost tangible, but other parts seem almost supernatural in nature. It’s like Beloved herself is a mixture of regret and PTSD, taking a metaphorically physical form to torture those who experienced the event, and driving away the others who had not. And in the end, it takes an entire supportive community to finally conquer the regret, to move past it and become a free person, but it’s still there in the background. Watching, waiting, on the verge of coming back up and ruining everything once again if it could ever get the chance.
This post is very beautiful (and quite poetic!). The ending of the book was one of the most confusing points for me. How can they, truly, forget Beloved? I understand how they can move on from her and treat her presence as no more than a bad dream, but to leave her to history would be another thing entirely. I do love your metaphor of leading footprints back to a river - I feel like that's how most memories are recounted; we see a trace of the past, and we follow the steps, however many there may be, back to where we first encountered this memory. And as the rememory ensues, it all comes back to us.
ReplyDeleteYour ideas with Beloved stroking peoples' heads while they're asleep and people not fully remembering bad memories reminds me of nightmares. Sometimes when I have a nightmare I wake up and remember that it was something scary, but I can't remember exactly what happened. I don't want to think too hard about it though, because if I remember what the dream is I know I'll just get freaked out again. This all sort of connects back to the emotional trauma of slavery, like what you talked about. Beloved represents the trauma from slavery, and as she brushes her fingers against sleeping foreheads, the memories of slavery resurface, and the trauma never goes away.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with your thoughts on the meaning of Beloved. She acts in a way that makes looking at her as an idea make a lot more sense than a character. Just as an idea is immaterial, Beloved is a ghost of sorts that terrorized Sethe for years before manifesting in a physical person, only to be forgotten again. The ominous ending of the book absolutely adds to this idea. The way Beloved is described as some sort of force that's been chased off but isn't really gone reads like a horror movie.
ReplyDeleteI love this analysis! The last few pages of the novel really make one question how real Beloved really was, and if we assume she was real, then it makes the reader question how full of a human she was. As you put it, maybe she is just a conglomeration of bad vibes, and not a full character. Maybe it was because she was killed as a baby that she was unable to become anything more and grow into a full person.
ReplyDeleteWow great post Simon! It truly sums up the mystery and meaning of Beloved. I would argue that the enigma of Beloved the character represents the enigma of Beloved the book. You do a fantastic job of illustrating this connection.
ReplyDeleteBeloved represents basically the ultimate regret- the loss of a child. Her ghost's presence as it corresponds to the ghost of slavery prevents everyone around her from healing or moving on, so the trauma remains fresh in their minds. I like how you pointed out the psychological horror underlying Beloved's reanimation.
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting and was something that I was also thinking of when I read the last section of the book. The last section really makes us readers question what we just read and if any of it actually happened. It is interesting how you said that maybe she wasn’t actually a character a rather haunting memory of the past. The ending doesn’t give us a compelte answer, allowing for anything to happen in the future. Although the memory of Beloved is gone, the trauma and effects of Beloved will always be there. Although it can be chased off and forgotten, it will never really be completely gone.
ReplyDeleteVery Interesting, but I somewhat disagree with your statement about people being able to try and remember. I got the impression from this book that these rememories weren't a choice, but instead fate. Sethe doesn't choose for Paul D to show up at 124, and if anything she tries to fight the memories, but they come anyway. Paul can't stop Beloved's control over him, all he can do is leave. I think maybe that is the point about rememory, that if you choose to hold anything at all close to you, these rememories can arise.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. You did a great job connecting the idea of Beloved, the character to Beloved, the novel. It goes back to Invisible Man, where characters only exist as a representation and once that role is fulfilled, they disappear into the page. Beloved in this novel had one sole purpose, to show Sethe's past finally reconciling with her and after that job was done, she disappears into the forest and is never heard again.
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