Topic > Seth's Limbo: Overcoming the Past in Beloved

Just like a ghost, Beloved's Sethe is trapped in a limbo between her past and her future. She constantly struggles between the memories triggered by Beloved and the opportunities presented by Paul D. Having never matured in the present, Sethe finds consolation in Beloved, who personifies both the good and evil of her past. With Paul D's re-entry into her life, Sethe becomes aware of the future, but resists moving forward. Accentuating Sethe's tension between past and future is the constant battle between Beloved and Paul D for control over Sethe. Only when Sethe has conquered her past will she be able to move into the future. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay For Sethe, the weight of her past is comforting. The beloved, both as a spirit and as a human being, is always with Sethe. As Sethe prays, Denver sees "a white dress kneeling beside her mother and...and her sleeve around her mother's waist" (29). Prayer is an activity in which one finds peace within oneself, but comfort does not come from within, but from the presence of the Beloved. Even in Sethe's most intimate and solitary moments, Beloved soothes her, all the while refusing to let her go, as her waist arm reveals. Sethe, though hesitant, is aware of her omnipresent past. While discussing the white dress appearance with Denver, she admits that "Some things go. You move on. Some things stay. I thought it was my memory. You know. Some things you forget. Some things you never do. But it's not. .. it will happen again; it will be there for you, waiting for you... it will always be there waiting for you" (36). When Beloved arrives at 124, reincarnated in human form, Sethe "cannot place it" (67), but the "feeling" (67) in her recognizes Beloved as the same haunting past and, knowing this, she still "allowed her to do it." in" (66), to her home, to her life. As the physical embodiment of Sethe's past, Beloved prevents her from conquering the ghosts of the past in which she remains. After mercy killing the Beloved, Sethe's dress becomes dries "stiff, like rigor mortis" (153); it is not the dress that suffers partial mortality, but Sethe. Upon her daughter's death, a part of Sethe dies, suspending her in the past he begins to "walk further and further along Bluestone Road every day to meet Sethe and accompany her to 124...as if every afternoon he doubts anew the older woman's return" (57). way, struggling to hold onto it. It continually pushes Sethe back into the past as she fishes for stories, using the remnants of memories as bait. The beloved receives a "deep satisfaction... from the narrative" (58) because each time Sethe perceives a hint of the her past life, she returns to that piece of her life, which is so easily available without ever having ever completely escaped it. of Sethe, who tells Denver, "She's the one. She's the one I need...she's the one I gotta have" (76). Each return journey holds Sethe there as she embraces both good and evil, fulfilling Beloved's desire to hold her in the past. With Paul D's arrival comes cautious reassurance, leading Sethe to become curious about the future. The morning after having sex for the first time, Sethe starts thinking, "Would it be okay? Would it be okay to go ahead and feel? To go ahead and count on something?" (38). He suggests the prospect of a family, something Sethe has never truly experienced, telling her that they should make "room for someone together in [Denver]" (45). Before space can be made for Paul D in their family, Sethe must overcome her past. While Sethe starts to get highforward, Beloved's efforts grow, holding her back. At the party with Paul D and Denver, Sethe first sees the possibility of a future when she notices that "[t]hey weren't holding hands, but their shadows were...all three of them sliding in the dust holding hands." (47). But, much like the carnival embellishment, where "the closer the roses came to death, the stronger their scent" (47), the closer Sethe comes to leaving the past behind, the louder and stronger Beloved's actions become . When he recognizes that "Paul D was adding something to his life, something he wanted to count on but was afraid to." ” (95), Sethe begins to place the memory of Halle in Baby Suggs' preaching clearing, but as she gains more peace with the memory of Halle, “the fingers touching the back of her neck [become] stronger ... Harder, harder, the fingers [move] slowly towards the trachea forming little circles along the way" (96). He associates the pain with that of forgetting the past, resurrecting his fear of letting go. Beloved does not only attacks the future through Sethe, but also through Paul D, Sethe's connection to the future Paul D recognizes that it is the ghost that keeps Sethe from moving forward, just as Beloved recognizes that it is Paul D that will cause Sethe to leave the There is a constant power struggle between Paul D and Beloved; they fight for power over Sethe and for power between themselves. At their first meeting, Paul shows his supremacy over Beloved, ordering her to "Leave this place in peace! Get out" (18), hoping to give Sethe the opportunity to escape the past that possesses her. With Beloved in the house, "[t]here was no room for anything or body until Paul D came and destroyed the place, making room, moving it, moving it somewhere else" (39), but later uses her own tactics to free 124 from Paul D. As Beloved slowly moves Paul D around the house, she eventually corners him in the shed behind it, ignoring Paul D's pleas about Sethe's love for her, taking her turn to instruct Paul D to "touch [her]. On the inside" (117). The Beloved uses sex, man's weakness, to conquer the future. Although Beloved succeeds instantly, it does not free 124 from Paul D, but instead leads him to realize that Sethe does not she can move forward as long as her past haunts her. that she can face her past. After her sexual encounter with Beloved, Paul D tells Sethe, “I want you pregnant…you would do it for me” (128). Paul D's wish is his desire to start over with Sethe, that they can both put their past to rest and create their own future, but Sethe responds with, "Don't you think I'm too old to start all this?" all over again" (128), demonstrating her interest in the future, because she does not reject the idea of ​​family, but at the same time her hesitation to move forward, because she is insecure about leaving her past to regenerate her life. As they sleep together later, Sethe "put her hand on his chest [as she wondered] if her boys came back one day, and Denver and Beloved stayed together, would it be as it should be, no" (132). With the placement of the hand, he begins to connect to the future as he contemplates and recognizes its consequences. Her acknowledgment of the "smile and sincere love that moved her to try" (161) to explain Beloved's murder to Paul D demonstrates her growing comfort with the future. She hesitates as she approaches the narrative, knowing that "the circle she was making around the room, he, the subject, would remain one" (163), not because she avoided the past, but rather because of her personal conscience. that he couldn't move into the future without facing his past. As Sethe approaches the future, her."