In Beloved, the lines that distinguish the norm, the extra, the excessive, the non-exististing, and the inadequate are all buried behind scars of past; ripped apart, desecrated, and thrown to the ravages of history itself to be processed into something completely unrecognizable.
We see Hale, Baby Suggs, Paul D., Sethe, and Denver all in reference to the unmarked line. Hale would be closest to the norm, with Baby Suggs being closer to having non-existing love which eventually turns into excessive, then turns back into non-existing after the whole 4-horsemen scene. We see Paul D. having to stay close to the inadequate/non-existing borderline, while Sethe has love in aces. Denver, however, is somewhere between the inadequate and excessive love spectrum lightly detailed above.
What makes me make this spectrum is how, between the 4 of us, we keep dancing around this idea of who's right and who's wrong when it comes down to love; since no clear line is drawn, other than the conversation between Paul D. and Sethe when it comes down to the 4-Horsemen event that ties itself to the spine of the whole book, can we really call out who's being overly protective, and in some cases most likely involving Denver, even neglectful?
There even is a lot of flexability to the line of love. The norm in Slave culture happens to equate to our inadequate/non-existing borderline that I labeled Paul D. with earlier, who himself then takes his views and compares them to Sethe and her actions.
As said by Wendy Perkins (From Here),
"The hope that she could be a mother to her children, which she had allowed herself during her twenty-eight days at Baby Suggs', was dashed. She tries to explain to Paul that her actions that day stemmed from her great love for her children, but Paul cannot envision her as a responsible mother. At one point, he views her as almost inhuman."This help shows what I'm talking about. How quickly the line shifts that one action is excusable by some, but shunned by the others.
Dragging Hale back into this, he goes insane after seeing his wife, Sethe, getting raped back at Sweethome, but does nothing to try to save her while she's in the process of. Does that make him neglectful to the responsibility and devotions he has put to his wife? Or does he have that obligation to abide by the trough of the wave that seems to continually transverse this wave I've called the line of love? Or would he be just at the norm-mark of love, or maybe even excessive considering he did have something to loose as a slave?
And with Baby Suggs, she eventually puts down her guard after being bought out of slavery by her son. When Sethe and children come over for that very 28 day span, Suggs gets hopeful of actually having the family there, and then watches helplessly as things fall apart at that very 28-day mark following. What would she be then?
The overall point is that in Beloved, Love can't be pinned around one area. We've been describing Love as some sort of linear idea that we scale people to, 1 to 100 based on how much they love others. The line isn't anywhere near straight and most likely loops over 2 or 3 times.
I agree with you that love definitely cannot be considered a straight line as you said. There are too many variables and situations that can put a strain on how someone is able to show their love. Different settings and incidents affect how a person is forced to love, or if it is even safe for them love at all. A common theme throughout the novel was that it was dangerous for slaves to show affection for anything or anyone. Certain situations hindered slaves and ex-slaves for being able to show their love. For instance, Halle didn't help save Sethe from Schoolteacher's nephews when she was being raped. Did he not help her because he didn't love her? I don't believe so. I think that if he did try to help her the situation would have only gotten worse and their punishments more severe. I think that if Halle had try to step in and help Sethe, there is a chance they both might have been killed. Since Halle didn't help Sethe and didn't create more of a problem, Sethe was able to escape from Sweet Home. This shows that in order to protect people you sometimes have to let them be put through pain and sufferring. Overall, love is a difficult concept and can't be easily understood. The things people do out of love is even more complicated to understand.
ReplyDeleteI am not quite sure I understand the several types of love you listed, Steve. What exactly is "the norm?" I do not think that there is a "normal" amount of love to have for someone or something. Moreover, how would you have "excessive" or "extra" love and "inadequate" love. Who decides what is excessive or inadequate? I think that there is friendship love, romantic love, lust, and familial love. And, all of these types of love are not separated into categories such as "normal," "too little" or "too much." You mention excessive love which sounds more like obsession, a totally different concept altogether.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I like how Matt points out what potentially would have happened had Halle attempted to step in as he witnessed Sethe being taken advantage of. Both of the them would have suffered torture and possibly be killed for fighting with a white man, particularly schoolteacher's nephew. Based on this, I agree with you, Matt, that Halle does not remain in hiding due to a lack of love or care for Sethe. Instead, he knows the consequences of stepping in and that may lead to an even worse fate. However, this lends itself to many more questions. Based on this mentality, was it not right for Sethe to step in and attempt murder on her children to save them? In hindsight, it may be easier to say that what she did was right or wrong, already knowing the outcome of her decision, but at the time it was happening, should she have just stood by?
I don't think there really is a 'norm' for love, as you say; the circumstances of the time and the experiences the slaves had skew the 'line' you discribe, to be, as you later discribe, more of a 'loop'. Lines of right and wrong and love and friendship are blurred when you are denied the luxery of knowing the difference.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean when you say that love involving Denver is neglectful? I think that she does not really exhibit much emotion past angst and lonelyness until Beloved comes back. Then, Denver is very obsessive, trying to fill the void she has in her life with Beloved's attention. I think that later on, the only form of love she really exhibits is self love: finding herself as a person and a daugher and a friend.
I don't think that Halle was neglectfull in doing nothing to save Sethe from Schoolteacher and his nephews. Halle knew that if he were to try to fight them off, not only would he be outnumbered, but Sethe's punishment would not seize just because he attacked. I think that, according to Paul D.'s views, Halle did risk something by loving Sethe and their children. Although, his reaction to what Schoolteacher did to Sethe, the severity of it, represents how much he did love her. The more viseral and extream the reaction, the thicker the love, the higher the danger for these slaves.