
                           Historical Commentary

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Beloved is a composite of slave narratives and related materials. Many
slave women killed their black children to free them from slavery. Sethe's
story is based on the true account of Margaret Garner, a young slave who
ran away, was caught, and returned to her plantation. She killed her son to
save him from slavery. Her owner was shipping her to Mississippi when she
jumped ship with her child in her arms, killing them both.

The time period in Beloved covers approximately ten years before and twenty
years after the Civil War.

Legend

One particularly interesting aspect of Beloved is the element of legend.
Whether or not there actually was a ghost in 124 Bluestone Road becomes
unimportant in light of the beliefs of the people involved who elaborated
on the facts and created their own reality according to their needs. The
same is true of Paul D's miraculous escape from the prison in Georgia. The
escape has legendary qualities; it reads like a good tale that has been
embellished to provide hope, and a message, for a discouraged race:
sticking together is the only way out of desperate situations. The same
message surrounds the story of the ghostly Beloved. Only when the
individuals and the community join forces is the ghost exorcised. Such
stories become legends, comprising an important part of the folklore of a
culture.

Morrison's Life

Toni Morrison was born February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio. Her grandfather
was born a slave. Her family were sharecroppers who lost their land and
were forced to work in the mines and mills of the industrialized North. In
1941 she attended Howard University and later Cornell. She has taught at
several universities and worked as a senior editor at Random House. She is
divorced and has two sons. Morrison's novels include The Bluest Eye (1972),
Sula (1974)+, Song of Solomon (1977)+, Tar Babv (1981)+, and Beloved
(1987)+. Her play Dreaming Emmett was produced in 1986.

+ All available in Signet paperbacks.

Morrison's Literary Reputation

Renowned as a contemporary African-American feminist novelist, Toni
Morrison's writing depicts the struggle of black women at various points in
American history. At a time when women novelists are gaining more respect
in the literary world, Morrison's is an important voice.

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