Within Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” water is a recurring motif that represents new beginnings and rebirth. Both Sethe and Beloved emerge from the water having been remade in some way.
For Sethe, water represents her rebirth as a free woman. The river that she crossed to reach Baby Sugg’s house is the final physical boundary between her old life as a slave and her new life of freedom. It is also the location of Denver’s birth, making it both literally and figuratively representative of new life. The river “looked like home to her, and the baby… must have thought so too” because as soon as Sethe reached the river “her own water broke loose to join it” and she went into labor (Morrison 98). She gave birth while sinking in the river water, then swaddled the baby while standing in the river. The reiterated presence of water in this birth scene serves as a sort of symbolic baptism of both Sethe and Denver, indicating the new chapter of their lives that is about to begin.
For Beloved, water represents her rebirth in a corporeal form and her return to Sethe and Denver’s life. Beloved is first introduced with the phrase “A fully dressed woman walked out of the water” (Morrison 60). Everything about Beloved appears new, from her suspiciously uncreased shoes, to her fancy dress, to her “new skin,” which is “lineless and smooth” (Morrison 61). Later, when Beloved talks to Denver about where she came from, she explains that “in the place [she was] before” it was dark and warm, and she was small and curled in a fetal position like a baby (Morrison 88). As Beloved disjointedly reveals her journey to 124, she mentions that before her arrival she was “in the water” (Morrison 89). It is revealed that she emerged from the stream she and Denver used to play by as children. The water imagery surrounding Beloved’s reappearance represents the final stage of a birth-like transformation. It also ties back to past family memories, which Beloved’s appearance begins to reawaken.
Between Sethe and Beloved, water becomes a recurring motif representing rebirth. However, while Sethe’s rebirth represents a new future, Beloved’s represents a return to the past.
Works Cited
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Penguin Random House, 2004.