Beloved Character Analysis in Beloved

It is never clear exactly who or what Beloved is. One day, she climbs out of the Ohio River with no memory of where she is from or who she is. She says she comes from “the other side” and has been looking for Sethe. She is, in some sense, the spirit of Sethe’s murdered child. But, as Denver recognizes at the end of the novel, she is also more. She can perhaps be understood as an embodiment of the seduction and danger of the past, as she causes Paul D and Sethe to remember and narrate their own personal stories and eventually become overwhelmed by them. She also seems to give voice to the pain and suffering of all slaves, as she is able to recall, somehow, the middle passage from Africa to the United States. Ella and the other women who come to rescue Sethe perceive her as a “devil child” and drive her away from 124 with song.

Beloved Quotes in Beloved

The Beloved quotes below are all either spoken by Beloved or refer to Beloved. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Sethe learned the profound satisfaction Beloved got from storytelling. It amazed Sethe... because every mention of her past life hurt.... But, as she began telling about the earrings, she found herself wanting to, liking it. Perhaps it was Beloved’s distance from the events itself, or her thirst for hearing it—in any case it was an unexpected pleasure.

Related Characters: ,

Page Number and Citation: 69

Explanation and Analysis:

And if [Sethe] thought anything, it was No. No. Nono. Nonono. Simple. She just flew. Collected every bit of life she had made, all the parts of her that were precious and fine and beautiful, and carried, pushed, dragged them through the veil, out, away, over there where no one else could hurt them. Over there. Outside this place, where they would be safe.

Related Characters: , ,

Page Number and Citation: 192

Explanation and Analysis:

I can forget it all now because as soon as I got the gravestone in place you made your presence known in the house and worried us all to distraction. I didn’t understand it then. I thought you were mad with me. And now I know that if you was, you ain’t now because you came back here to me... I only need to know one thing. How bad is the scar?

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 217

Explanation and Analysis:

Beloved, she my daughter. She mine.... She had to be safe and I put her where she would be. But my love was tough and she back now. I knew she would be.... I won’t never let her go.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 236

Explanation and Analysis:

Yet [Denver] knew Sethe’s greatest fear was...that Beloved might leave.... Leave before Sethe could make her realize that far worse than [death]...was what Baby Suggs died of, what Ella knew, what Stamp saw and what made Paul D tremble. That anybody white could take your whole self for anything that came to mind. Not just work, kill, or maim you, but dirty you. Dirty you so bad you couldn’t like yourself anymore. Dirty you so bad you forgot who you were and couldn’t think it up.

Related Characters: , , , , , ,

Page Number and Citation: 295

Explanation and Analysis:

They forgot her like a bad dream. After they made up their tales, shaped and decorated them, those that saw her that day on the porch quickly and deliberately forgot her. It took longer for those who had spoken to her, lived with her, fallen in love with her, to forget... In the end, they forgot her too.

Related Characters:

Page Number and Citation: 323-324

Explanation and Analysis:

Beloved Character Timeline in Beloved

The timeline below shows where the character Beloved appears in Beloved. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...the strange woman eats nothing but drinks lots of water. She says her name is Beloved. Paul D decides not to ask her who she is or where she’s from, thinking... (full context)

Sethe and Paul D think Beloved is sick with cholera, but Denver defiantly says that she isn’t. For four days, Denver... (full context)

Beloved begins to eat, but only sweet things, such as honey, sugarcane, candy, and lemonade. She... (full context)

Beloved is devoted to paying Sethe attention. She waits for her in the kitchen in the... (full context)

Storytelling, Memory, and the Past Theme Icon

One night, Beloved asks Sethe where her diamonds are. Sethe is confused, but then realizes that Beloved is... (full context)

Sethe tells Beloved that she got the earrings from Mrs. Garner when she married Halle. She had heard... (full context)

One day, as Sethe is unbraiding Denver’s hair, Beloved asks if Sethe’s mother ever did her hair. Sethe says she can’t remember and tells... (full context)

...why she only ever asks Sethe about the white woman, Amy. Denver notices how “greedy” Beloved is to hear Sethe tell stories. She wonders how Beloved could have known about Sethe’s... (full context)

Paul D feels uneasy around Beloved and is still suspicious of her, since he still does not know anything about her... (full context)

Paul D still feels suspicious of Beloved, even though he has known many “Negroes so stunned, or hungry, or tired or bereft... (full context)

Just as Paul D thinks of trying to get rid of Beloved, Beloved chokes on a raisin and then gets sick. Denver takes Beloved to her room,... (full context)

Beloved and Denver are dancing upstairs in 124. Denver asks Beloved what it was like where... (full context)

Denver asks Beloved never to leave and then asks her not to tell Sethe who she is. This... (full context)

...lost her faith and stopped preaching. Missing Baby Suggs, Sethe decides to take Denver and Beloved with her to the Clearing. (full context)

Beloved points out bruises on Sethe’s neck and rubs them soothingly, then starts to kiss Sethe’s... (full context)

...Paul D bathing. Realizing how much she wants him in her life, she embraces him. Beloved sees this and is immediately jealous. She runs outside to a stream where Denver is.... (full context)

...Denver was so upset she never returned to the schoolhouse. Denver walks over to join Beloved. (full context)

Beloved gradually forces Paul D out of 124. He feels restless and uncomfortable everywhere, and doesn’t... (full context)

Beloved enters the cold house one night and asks Paul D to sleep with her. He... (full context)

Denver loves it when Beloved looks at her and prizes her attention. Sethe asks Beloved about her past, but all... (full context)

By contrast, Denver thinks that Beloved is the white dress that knelt next to Sethe, some presence of the dead baby.... (full context)

Denver finally finds Beloved, who assures her that she is not going to leave, because she wants to be... (full context)

...harsher. Paul D’s recent behavior—not being able to stay put in 124 and sleeping with Beloved—makes him question whether Schoolteacher was right about him being less than a man. (full context)

...snow and they start to run, Paul D hoisting Sethe on his back. They encounter Beloved waiting for Sethe near 124, who breaks up the intimacy between Sethe and Paul D. (full context)

...D sleeping in the cold house and tells him to come upstairs at night, upsetting Beloved. Sethe’s kindness reminds Paul D of the woman he stayed with in Delaware, who gave... (full context)

...night, after Paul D and Sethe leave the dinner table and go upstairs, Denver and Beloved talk. Denver says that Sethe likes having Paul D at the house, but Beloved tells... (full context)

...on without Paul D, who she feels has abandoned her like all the other townspeople. Beloved finds a pair of ice skates and asks what they are. Sethe decides to take... (full context)

...on the day of the carnival were not Paul D, Denver, and her, but rather Beloved, Denver, and her. She thinks that Paul D tried to convince her to be concerned... (full context)

Sethe thinks that Beloved knows and understands everything about her past. She remembers burying her child, specifically how she... (full context)

...works up the nerve to knock on Sethe’s door, but no one answers. He sees Beloved through a window. He tells Ella that there is a strange woman at 124 and... (full context)

This chapter follows Sethe’s stream of consciousness, which repeats the name “Beloved” and insists that “she is mine.” Sethe’s internal monologue of thoughts continually claims that killing... (full context)

...other side where my own ma’am is.” Sethe ends the chapter by saying again that Beloved is her daughter and has come back to her. (full context)

Denver’s monologue follows Sethe’s. She asserts that Beloved is her sister and that they have a special bond: she swallowed Beloved’s own blood... (full context)

...coming. She idealized Halle as “an angel man.” Denver’s monologue ends like Sethe’s, insisting that Beloved is hers. (full context)

This chapter follows Beloved’s thoughts. She insists that Sethe is hers. She says “it is always now” and her... (full context)

Beloved recalls coming out of water and finding a house, then seeing Sethe’s face and recognizing... (full context)

Beloved’s stream of consciousness continues. She speaks of a woman she was separated from in Africa... (full context)

Beloved’s thoughts are followed by a dialogue of thoughts between Beloved, Sethe, and Denver. Beloved says... (full context)

...of love and “she was trying to out-hurt the hurter.” He asks Paul D about Beloved and Paul D says that no one knows where she came from. Before Stamp Paid... (full context)

Beloved begins to dominate in her relationship with Sethe, not obeying her and throwing angry fits... (full context)

...them. Denver begins going to Lady Jones’ house more often, as life at 124 deteriorates. Beloved seems to be going crazy and Sethe has regressed and is childlike and weak. Denver... (full context)

Denver goes to the Bodwins to look for work. She tells their maid Janey about Beloved and how Sethe seems to have lost her mind. Janey tells her to come back... (full context)

...at the Clearing. She goes out to the porch to watch them sing, along with Beloved. The singing women see Beloved as a “devil-child.” Beloved has assumed the appearance of a... (full context)

...Paid discuss the day when the singing women came to the house and drove away Beloved, who fled from the women and disappeared. According to Stamp Paid, 124 seems no longer... (full context)

Paul D asks Denver if Beloved was her sister. Denver says that she thinks so, but that Beloved was also more.... (full context)

Paul D goes to 124. He senses that Beloved is truly gone. He enters the house looking for Sethe and finally finds her humming... (full context)

The novel describes a loneliness at 124 now that Beloved is gone and has “erupt[ed] into her separate parts.” The town gradually forgets about her... (full context)

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Beloved Character Analysis

Beloved Quotes in Beloved

Beloved Character Timeline in Beloved

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