    (c) 1991 Bureau Development, Inc.

    File: \DP\0134\01346.TXT         Mon Jun 26 15:40:24 1995
Database: Monarch Notes By Literary Period


$Unique_ID{MON01346}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Works of Toni Morrison
Character Analysis}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Morrison, Toni}
$Affiliation{Free-Lance Writer, Formerly Associate Editor, New York Daily Challenge}
$Subject{sethe
paul
sethe's
suggs
baby
beloved
community
home
life
slavery}
$Date{}
$Log{}
Title:       Works of Toni Morrison
Book:        Beloved
Author:      Morrison, Toni
Critic:      Branch, Eleanor
Affiliation: Free-Lance Writer, Formerly Associate Editor, New York Daily Challenge

Character Analysis

(In Alphabetical Order)

Beloved.

     There is very little to know about Beloved. A woman, about 19 or 20 years
old, steps out of the water with new hands and feet and no memory of her past
or present. On the one hand, she is a reincarnation of the daughter Sethe
murdered 18 years before, and on the other, a representative voice of the 60
million or so Africans that were lost during the middle passage. But who is
Beloved? Petulant and demanding, she seduces Paul D, captivates Denver, and
almost destroys Sethe in a deadly game of domination. In her extended stay at
124, it is hard to pinpoint the aspects of character that would help define
who she is. Beloved is more a presence, the intensity of which is determined
by those who need her-for whatever reason-and are not afraid to call.

Mr. Bodwin.

     As a white man and abolitionist, Bodwin represents a rare example of
kindness to a black community habitually distrustful of whites. Born into
privilege, he takes away from his childhood an abiding sense that all human
life is sacred. The happiest years of his life, despite the ridicule, are
spent in the struggle for abolition. In pursuit of that end, and out of a deep
compassion for Sethe, he turns her one act of infanticide into a compelling
argument against slavery and wins her release from jail. Over 70-his hopes for
a tranquil republic dashed-he has begun to contemplate his own mortality and
his desire is simple: to be allowed the pleasure of just one more day. Still,
he remains generous as evidenced in his decision not to press charges against
Sethe.

Miss Bodwin.

     Bodwin's sister is also a fierce abolitionist. Denver remembers her as
the kindly white woman who came to 124 at Christmas bearing gifts when Baby
Suggs was alive. At the time, articulate on abolition matters and the Civil
War, now she contents herself with "experimenting" on Denver, educating her in
the hope she may one day go to Oberlin.

Ella.

     In many respects, Ella represents community. Of course, she has her own
story to tell. Everything is measured against "the lowest yet," a reference to
her sexual captivity at the hands of a father and son. She is practical and
unsentimental. Her advice to Sethe, "Don't love nothing," is telling because
it is so basic. Her principles, her sense of right and wrong often make her
high-minded and judgmental. She does not like prideful people and could not
countenance Sethe after her release from prison. Yet, her turnabout with
regard to Sethe suggests a softer side of her. It is she who organizes the
group of women who pray for Sethe. It is she who leads them, and it is she who
ultimately stops Sethe from killing Bodwin. A strong and compassionate woman,
she mirrors some of the best and worst qualities of the community.

Garner, Paul A and Paul F.

     As their names suggest, Paul A and Paul F-both brothers of Paul D-are
indistinct. Paul F is sold by Mrs. Garner after Mr. Garner's death in order to
sustain Sweet Home, and Paul A's whereabouts are unknown.

Garner, Paul D.

     The last of the Sweet Home men is a wandering soul who discovers love at
124. On the move for years in an attempt to ward off the effects of Sweet Home
and Alfred, Georgia, he wrestles with a growing sense of powerlessness and
inadequacy. "What makes a man?" is his all-important query. Using Sixo and
Halle as comparisons, even equating himself with Sweet Home's tough barnyard
rooster, Mister, he struggles to work through the trauma of his slavery past.
At 124, his sense of powerlessness is exacerbated by Beloved, who drives him
out of Sethe's bed and later seduces him. The revelation of Sethe's "too
thick" love pushes him completely away, but he returns a steadier and more
confident man, capable of nursing Sethe back to physical and mental health.

Mr. Garner.

     As the owner of Sweet Home, Garner's brand of slavery is less
exploitative than others. He is "man enough" to allow his slave-men to carry
guns; open enough to listen to their advice; and interested enough in them to
teach them how to count. He is an enigma to his neighbors who do not hold his
philosophies, and his braggadocio often leads him into fisticuffs. Garner's
slavery is a matter of ego, though. He does his slaves no favor by creating
such a "cradle" and after his death, it splits beyond recognition.

Mrs. Garner.

     The wife of Sweet Home's plantation owner is painted as a woman of
substance who experiences a steady decline. Her role as homemaker includes
cooking, washing, making candles, soap and cider, etc., and she works right
alongside first Baby Suggs, and then Sethe. Her closeness to the latter is
evidenced by the wedding present earrings; and her tearful response to the
news that Sethe was suckled by the nephews shows compassion. Still, she is
very much a part of the traditional cast of southern society in her insistence
that Schoolteacher come and manage the farm because it is inappropriate for
her to be the only white woman among so many male slaves.

Lady Jones.

     The name Lady Jones tags an important characteristic about this educated,
mullato schoolteacher, and that is her separation-both real and imagined-from
others in the community. As a "high yellow" black woman she fights hard for
inclusion. She marries the "Blackest man" she can find, has "rainbow colored"
children whom she educates along with the rest of the community's progeny, and
sends them off to a black college. Yet, she feels unwanted and unloved. She
befriends Denver as someone in need, but shows her disdain for the ignorance
of superstition by refusing to accompany the townswomen in their efforts to
help Sethe escape from the grasp of Beloved.

Paid, Stamp.

     A prime example of the ancestor-elder in the novel, Stamp Paid is as good
and decent man with a commitment to community that is unparalleled. Born
Joshua, he changes his name to Stamp Paid rather than kill someone after his
wife is forced to bed with the master's son. Then and there he assumes a
debtlessness and spends his life helping others do the same-as an agent for
the underground railroad, as a community leader, and a friend. His
relationship with Baby Suggs, Denver, and Sethe is especially touching because
it emphasizes his sense of caring and concern. His guilt over telling Paul D
Sethe's secret is part of that. His principles keep him moving even though he
is bone tired. Stamp Paid represents the best aspects of community.

Sawyer.

     Sethe's restaurant boss is portrayed as a kindly man who takes a chance
on hiring Sethe after her release from prison, but who becomes more and more
irritated with the hired help after the death of his son in the Civil War.

Schoolteacher.

     The brother-in-law of Mr. Garner, Schoolteacher arrives at the request of
Mrs. Garner to set the Sweet Home Plantation straight. To know his name is to
know him. More than just his profession, he is the embodiment of a strict
formality and matter-of-factness one might expect from a schoolteacher. He
walks around in a collar, even in the fields, pad and pen in hand, taking
notes and making observations on the behavior of the slaves. His lesson plans
include a comparison of the animal and human characteristics of the slaves.
Schoolteacher represents many of the assumptions and prejudices created to
justify slavery. He considers himself a superior man who must ultimately
assume the responsibidity of saving his slaves from "the cannibal life they
preferred." He also believes that life is a series of lessons to be taught to
others. One nephew stays behind in the search for Sethe in order to learn
his-that you cannot mistreat "creatures" and expect them not to react.

Sixo.

     A young man in his 20s when we first meet him, Sixo is, like Halle in
Paul D's eyes, a sterling example of manhood. "Indigo with a flame-red
tongue," he is closer to the African experience. He is a spirited and
spiritual man who takes night walks and dances among the trees to keep his
bloodlines open. He is also rebellious, clever, and persistent. He dies
laughing, secure in the knowledge that his seed will live on. As a black man
who is not afraid to fight back, he poses a serious threat to the institution
of slavery.

Suggs, Baby.

     Baby Suggs, Halle's mother and Sethe's mother-in-law, is one of the most
important characters in the book, not only because she brings the lesson of
self-love and self-possession to the community, but because of her role as
ancestor-elder. Stoic and a realist in much the same way as Ella, she adapts
to slavery and motherhood by learning not to love her children. With Halle,
however, she feels free to invest that emotion and it is he who buys her
freedom. Baby Suggs is a commanding woman. A great believer in the power of
God, she leads the community in weekly celebrations of self. More than that
she opens her home and her heart to anyone in need. She is devastated,
however, by Sethe's impulse to kill and retires to her bed to ponder color. It
is, for her, a way of giving up; everything she has attempted to do with her
life is negated in that one instant. Even after her death, her presence
pervades the novel and she becomes a tangible force in Denver's life by
encouraging her to step beyond 124 to help save her mother.

Suggs, Howard and Buglar.

     The young sons of Sethe and Halle run away from home after the ghost
intimidates them with her spite.

Suggs, Denver.

     Denver's growth-the degree to which she takes possession of herself-is an
exciting prospect, given her early trauma. At 18, she leaves a world of
painful isolation where she finds refuge in the secret world of the boxwood
arbor and the friendship of the baby ghost. Her loneliness is exacerbated by
the departure of her two brothers and the death of her grandmother. She longs
for connections, some of which she finds in Sethe's stories of her birth.
Still, she is traumatized as a result of Sethe's act of infanticide and
struggles to work through the varied feelings she has toward her mother. Her
dreams are nightmarish; she is afraid to let Sethe braid her hair; and she
goes deaf because she cannot handle other people's questions about Sethe or
stomach the answers herself. When she returns to the world of the hearing, she
finds solace in the baby ghost and later in the arrival of Beloved as ghost
incarnate. It is a friendship that grows dangerous very quickly because of its
obsessional qualities. Just as Beloved wants to possess Sethe, so Denver wants
to possess Beloved. She cultivates that relationship until she realizes the
toll Beloved's presence has taken on Sethe. She moves to help her mother and
in doing so reconciles whatever conflict existed between them.

Suggs, Halle.

     As Sethe's husband and Baby Suggs' son, Halle's presence is a function of
memory. Sethe remembers him as the loving husband who abandoned her. Paul D
remembers him as the man who captured Sethe's heart, but lost his wits at the
sight of his wife being suckled by a young white man. Baby Suggs remembers him
as the one who gave her freedom. Halle is a good man, honorable because he
buys his mother out of slavery, and considers buying his family out as well
before he considers running; and ambitious because he is willing to learn
whatever Mr. Garner has to teach. In Paul D's eyes, he is a man's man.

Suggs, Sethe.

     Sethe is, perhaps, the most complexly rendered character. It is her story
that informs the novel. Raised in the "cradle" of Sweet Home, she is
unrealistic in her expectations of what slavery will allow her as a person and
a mother. She invests so much in both, but most especially motherhood, because
she believes her children are her "best things." Her decision to seek freedom
is, in part, due to her desire that they have a different life from the one
she has known. Schoolteacher's arrival to take them back sends her reeling and
she takes what she deems as appropriate action; she tries to kill her
children. Succeeding with one, she lives for 18 years with her guilt and with
the almost daily tyranny of the baby ghost. Sethe handles it, accepting its
presence as a reminder of the child that died and as a manifestation of her
own guilt. So closely is she locked into the cycle of guilt and remorse that
when Paul D exorcises the familiar, she calls it back. Beloved's arrival and
Sethe's gradual discovery of who she is cements the process of decline. After
Paul D's absence, she surrenders and the two become entangled in a parasitic
relationship that almost claims Sethe's life. Sethe's rescue at the hands of
the community, and her reconciliation with Paul D, signal an end to the cycle
of destruction. She must learn to accept herself as her own "best thing."

30 Mile Woman.

     Although she appears in the book briefly and only in the context of
memory, the 30 Mile Woman is a symbol of Sixo's rebellion. He leaves Sweet
Home at night to meet her; they plan to run together; she is pregnant with his
child. As Sixo puts it, "She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them
and give them back to me in all the right order."

Wagon, Janey.

     Janey Wagon, as housekeeper to the Bodwins since her early adolescence,
functions as another voice of the community. A gossip, she is curious,
concerned, and judgmental about Sethe's visitation from Beloved. Yet, she is
also the first to articulate that Beloved's presence is no accident, and her
quick move to spread the word is a major factor in Sethe's rescue.

