Power of the Past

In Beloved, Toni Morrison gives us bits and fragments of the past for us to piece together as the story progresses. However, even without the complete picture, we can still see how the past has a large effect on the present. When Sethe and Denver lived alone in 124 with the baby ghost, Sethe was always trying to repress her memories of her past and life at Sweet Home. She would never fully answer Denver's questions about the past. Despite her efforts, I think Sethe realizes she can't hide from past indefinitely:

"I mean, even if I don't think it, even if I die, the picture of what I did, or knew or saw is still out there. Right in the place where it happened...The picture is still there and what's more, if you go there--you who never was there--if you go there and stand in the place where it was, it will happen again; it will be there for you waiting for you...That's how come I had to get all my children out. No matter what."

Sethe doesn't want to tell Denver about what happened to her because she fears it might happen to Denver. She realizes the power of the past to repeat itself. But once Paul D and Beloved (who could both be considered figures of Sethe's past) come, Sethe seems to become more accepting of her past. We begin to hear (slowly) more about Sethe and her past as she talks to Paul D and mysteriously connects with Beloved.

With Paul D's arrival, they are able to become more comfortable, almost a family. Perhaps this is because Paul D brings back pleasant memories. With Beloved, the almost idyllic life is interrupted. Although at first she seems innocent, the incident with her choking Sethe is much more sinister. Maybe her appearance evokes only painful memories of the death of Sethe's baby--this painful past only has negative effects on the present.

While we may only be able to speculate now, once we get a more detailed picture of Sethe's past, I am sure we will be able to more clearly tell how the past has power over the present.