Slavery had detrimental effects on the slaves physically, as well as mentally and emotionally. The women of Beloved had varied individual and maternal responses to slavery
Slavery had detrimental effects on the slaves physically, as well as mentally and emotionally. The women of Beloved had varied individual and maternal responses to slavery. There is an obvious pattern in the novel of women grounding themselves in one place and trying to make a life for herself and her family. They fight to make a decent life, battling the past as well as the present. As far as the future, there are not any thoughts about it. This is the result of slavery- the complete absence of hope for the future. The women of Beloved react similarly to slavery as individuals, but as mothers the similarities halt. Slavery undermined women, especially as mothers. It cut off all emotional connections between mother and child by separating them and ultimately selling one of the two off to another plantation. The inevitability of losing your child produced the defensive mechanism of ‘loving small.’ Baby Suggs has not ever been able to truly love her children for the certain fact that she will lose them all. And Ella has not been able to share a maternal connection because she let her child, a product of rape, die. On the other side of the spectrum is Sethe, whereas she believes that protecting her children is of the most importance.