A significant theme in “Beloved” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is motherhood and the effect that slavery has on the relationships between mothers and their children. We see time and time again that slavery causes mothers to take drastic measures for their children’s safety. In “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, Eliza leaps across a river with her child in her arms in order to keep him safe from the horrors of slavery. In “Beloved”, Sethe murders her own baby in order to keep her from a life as a slave. Even today, actions from the mother in Baltimore toward her rioting son show that passion for one’s children is timeless. The sacrifices and risks that these women took for their children show incredible character, but also extreme desperation. A powerful quote from “Beloved” is, “How if I hadn't killed her she would have died and that is something I could not bear to happen to her” (Morrison, 114). There is heavy implications behind this sentence. To Sethe, slavery is worse than death. By killing her she saved her innocence and spirit from certain torture.
The situations that these two women found themselves in were not the norms during the time of slavery. More often, children were taken away from their mothers and they could do absolutely nothing to stop it. In “A Slave Auction Described by a Slave, 1841” by Solomon Northup which I wrote about in part one of this project, he describes a scene of a child being taken away from his mother, and her absolute despair at this reality. Her pleading and crying show what can happen when a mother has no control over the safety of her children, it nearly destroys them.
This draws in the critical commentary by Elizabeth B. House that said Sethe was so hurt by her past that she projected it onto a person in her present. Having to kill her child would be one of the worst realities a woman could face. Having gone through that kind of trauma, it would be reasonable for someone to think that the cracks in her heart skewed her perception of real life. Though I don’t believe this is the intended meaning of the book, it is not entirely outlandish to think that a mother suffering in this way start inventing things to help her cope.
I think a mother’s instincts to protect her child are very important. I know that I am very lucky to be born in a time where my mother does not have to leap across a river to keep me safe. However, I have no doubt that she would if she had to. The world gets a little bit better everyday, but people are still facing hardships. Fathers and mothers are raising the people who will shape the future, and protecting them until they can protect themselves is a big part of that job. They have to teach their children how the world works and show them how to think for themselves. As Sethe says in the novel, “Because you mine and I have to show you these things, and teach you what a mother should” (Morrison, 115).
Beloved text used:
http://www.africanafrican.com/folder10/alot%20of%20african%20american%20history%20in%20pdf%20doc%20ppt1/toni%20morrison/BelovedFullTextToniMorrison%20USE%20THIS%20ONE.pdf
I really liked the theme you chose to write about for your blog. This was a really big theme in most novels and they both end differently, in that Eliza gets her child and Sethe had lost hers. It's interesting how both books have a shared theme but end differently and are both written in a very different perspective.
ReplyDeleteI also wrote about motherhood in some of my blogs. Both of these mothers were affected with their children because of slavery. Eliza tries to keep her child with her and Sethe takes her childs life to keep her away from slavery. I thought both of these issues were interesting regarding motherhood.
ReplyDeleteMotherhood is a very important theme in both of the novels we read for class. I think it's interesting that authors like Stowe and Morrison choose to add such strong women in their stories as well as comment on slavery. They are interesting topics to be paired together. It really makes you appreciate the strong character women have, even when having to go through such difficult times. What I love about this theme of motherhood is that through all the despair and hardship that these women encounter through slavery, they never break. They are always strong for the sake of their children's survival. No matter what white people have done to them, they persevere in order to save their children.
ReplyDeleteI agree that motherhood is a very important theme. I wrote that family was important, so both themes kind of go hand-in-hand. Mothers will do anything and everything to ensure their children are safe and protected, and so will family. I really liked reading your blog post.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to consider how fierce a mother's love can be, especially during the direst of situations.
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