The Return of Beloved

“Suddenly Denver, who was sitting cross-legged, lurched forward and grabbed Beloved’s wrist. ‘Don’t tell her. Don’t let Ma’am know who you are. Please, you hear?’

‘Don’t tell me what to do. Don’t you never never tell me what to do.’

‘But I’m on your side, Beloved.’

‘She is the one. She is the one I need. You can go but she is the one I have to have.’ Her eyes stretched to the limit, black as the all-night sky.

‘I didn’t do anything to you. I never hurt you. I never hurt anybody,’ said Denver.

‘Me either. Me either.’

‘What you gonna do?’

‘Stay here. I belong here.’

‘I belong here too.’

‘Then stay, but don’t never tell me what to do. Don’t never do that.’” (Morrison 89)

In the quote above, Denver is talking to Beloved about her past and who she was and Denver just realized that Beloved was the child that Sethe had lost in the years past when her other daughter was executed. Beloved had come back from the afterlife and Denver wants to help Beloved conceal her identity from their mother.

The way that Beloved turned so coldly and had such rage that Morrison was trying to show us that those who have been suppressed for so long no longer want to take orders from others and aim for what they want. Through the line “Don’t tell me what to do. (Beloved) (89)“ and “Her eyes stretched to the limit, black as the all-night sky. (89)”, their purpose was the create a deeper feeling of rage towards commands. There seems to create tension between the characters and makes it difficult for the same relationship to be in order. It seems as though Beloved’s only purpose there is to be with Sethe when she said, “She is the one I need. You can go but she is the one I have to have (89)”. Denver’s thoughtfulness and forcefulness caused a stir that could jeopardize their relationship.

Beloved never felt that affection that Denver had for all those years that Denver has been alive. Beloved was lost for so many years and since she’s back in the picture, she now wants that feeling of love. A couple of years before Sethe and the rest of the black community were all slaves and had to take orders without hesitation. They didn’t receive the same kind of love that Beloved had missed out on. Now that they both are in situations that they could benefit from, they will strive for what they want terribly and won’t let anything interfere with what they want.