ect all these images of pain and suffering, only extends the burdens that each of Morrisons characters are forced to carry with them for the rest of their lives. They could resurrect the past if they like, but dont, because they know things will never be the same if they do (275). Amy Denver told Sethe that anything dead coming back to life hurts (35). She refers to the soreness in Sethes feet that are the result of several days of brutal physical exhaustion. Her astute generalization holds true particularly through the last pages of the novel. Throughout the book, healing the painful memories of the past reincarnates the painful emotions. Similar to the pain of healing that occurs with Sethes feet. The more hurt more better it is. Cant nothing heal without pain, you know (77). Nonetheless, why does Morrison explicitly draw the label of rememories paired with pain, even after 18 years of mental torment? Sethes sins are obvious and she is forced to live half of her life ostracized from society. Yet, the reader is not quick to condemn her for her sins as the community and Paul D are quick to do. Beloved returns to 124 Bluestone as the reincarnation of Sethes sins, on a mission to punish Sethe for a crime that was committed 18 years earlier. Her intentions are evil from the start, and it is Denver, who ironically undermines Beloveds motives. Denver though she understood the connection between her mother and Beloved: Sethe was trying to make up for the handsaw; Beloved was making her pay for it (251). It is not Beloveds wrath that plagues Sethe, but rather the memories of the past that Beloved revives that wear her down. Beloved uses Sethes guilt as a weapon against her. Her devotion to Beloved is based on the same destructive love of the past and also her sense of guilt. She is nave in the sense when she looks upon Beloved as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean. But instead, the past is replayed against Sethe. The source of guilt that h...
