Postcolonial Experience in a Domestic Context: Commodified Subjectivity in Toni Morrison's Beloved

Reconstruction of black identity in Toni Morrison's Beloved

“…Duval (2000) states that Beloved is a postmodern novel concentrated on the formation of identity in a multiple and flowing process. Elliott (2000) believes that in Beloved, the author's focus is more on the characters' black ownership and self-liberation within the western slavery system. The novel's female protagonist, Sethe, figures out that getting rid of slavery oppression and the formation of a new identity and self is not necessarily equal to gaining physical liberation: "freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another" (Morrison, 2007, p. 95).…”

“…Despite various interpretations of Beloved's character, it is widely accepted that she returns in the form of a repressed story to stimulate her mother, Sethe, to talk about the unspeakable reasons for her baby's infanticide (Kim, 2010). Elliott (2000) states that Beloved haunted house 124 to force Sethe to confront her fears. There are two assumptions regarding Beloved character and the relationship she made with her mother; firstly, it is assumed that Beloved is a supernational being who came from Sethe's subconscious to stimulate her to recall the past, or in other words, to punish her because of her act.…”

Maternal Love and Freedom under Slavery—Deconstruction of the Female Subjectivity in <i>Beloved</i>

“…Beloved, the novel was published by Toni Morrison in 1987, in which many of the characters are born into slavery and experience the imposed objectivity of its commodifying ideology (Elliott, 2000). In this novel, Sethe, the protagonist, was sold to the Garners and brought to the Sweet Home in thirteen.…”

“…Mary Jane Suero Elliot thought characters in Beloved are the commodified subjectivity for the postcolonial experience in a domestic context (Elliott, 2000).…”