Hanna Bobrowicz-October 20th, 2015
“She thought of how little color there was in the house and how strange she had not missed it the way Baby did... There was something wrong with that. It was though one day she saw red baby blood, another day the pink gravestone chips, and that was the last of it.” (Morrison 47).
Beloved confronts the difficult subject of slavery by describing characters internal thoughts when they are both enslaved and free. The author, Toni Morrison does this to stress the emotional trauma and struggles that plague the survivors of slavery.
When remembering her Mother-in-law’s hunger for color in her dying days, Sethe reflects on her repulsion of color since her escape from the plantation. Sunsets, and sunrises are usually seen as images of beauty and comfort. However, Sethe believes that there was “something wrong” with her refusal to acknowledge the bright colors of the dawn. This is Sethe’s conscious thoughts, suddenly realizing the lack of color in her house, and lack of color that she notices on a day to day basis. Her ego comes to the conclusion that there is something warped with the way she sees the world. But this refusal to see color, or admire beautiful things, is due to the trauma of being a slave for the majority of her life, and the survival tactics that were used in Sweet Home and at 124.
Sethe's Id connects the vibrant colors that are seen in everyday life, to the horrific events of her past. Most sunrises or sunsets are red or orange. These colors have multiple connotation. Sethe is reminded of the death of her first born child. The “red baby blood” and the “pink gravestone chips”. Red and pink remind her ego of the horror she endured after she escaped from the plantation and the sacrifices she made to keep herself and her children free from slavery. One of the sacrifices, was deciding to hasten her daughter demise, colors seen in the dawn are the same colors that appeared when the baby died. Sethe feels immense amounts of guilt and attempts to stifle it by ridding all color in her house. Sethe does this so she no longer has to be reminded of the horrors she committed in light of slavery.
In addition to the guilt Sethe feels, regarding the death of her daughter, her subconscious mind also pushed color away from her memories of 124. Her suffering and fear were so great when her old plantation owner came to reclaim her and her children, that colors such as the red, orange and pink are remembered. Sethe subconscious connects colors she sees throughout the day to the trauma she has endured. But this also serves as a survival tactic for Sethe, both during slavery and when she is free. Sethe claims that she does not miss color, this suggests, that the positive emotion that colors often make a person feel, repulse Sethe. She becomes uncomfortable when she feels a strong emotion. This survival tactic benefited Sethe when she was a slave, for she would not endure the same pain when families or friends were sold or died. This also helps her stifle the guilt she feels towards Beloved, and the day she decided to kill her. Her stoic demeanor protects her from feeling the gravity of slavery. However, it has made her unable to enjoy simple things like the colors seen at dawn.
Psychology behind colors
Your description and analysis of the use of color in the novel and how it portrays and works with Morrison's description of Sethe's id and ego is really interesting and well written. I love how you use the connotations and feelings associated with certain colors in the novel to explain what Morrison may be revealing. In addition to this, the picture you used provides an aesthetically pleasing visual representation and aid for what you are talking about through the blog entry. Overall, I enjoyed reading your post and it helped me further understand this critical lens.
ReplyDeleteI never gave much thought to the mention of color in Beloved, but your analysis highlights an important aspect of Sethe's character! It makes sense that she would block the vibrant red from her mind as a coping method.
ReplyDelete