Nothing Is Ever Easy

After reading the “Slavery And Motherhood” article by Terry Paul Caesar, I recognize that the author touches upon some very important points about motherhood, daughters, and slavery.

One main question that has been brought up by Terry Caesar is, “What is a mother?” Caesar does not go into detail about what a mother is, but he does say, “...There are profound differences between being a woman and being a mother. For one thing, there is the question of masculine desire.” While I agree with part of what he is saying, I would definitely say that being a mother and being a woman are pretty similar. My reason for thinking this are because a girl gets her period, which is known as “becoming a woman.” When you receive your period, this is some indication that you are able to bear a child, which makes you a mother. The way these two are linked, a mother and being a woman, I believe are similar rather than complete opposites. I also agree with Caesar because I do believe that there’s a “masculine desire” Terry mentions when Paul D asks Sethe to bring a baby to this world, and how Sethe’s reaction is frightened. Another example is when, Sethe was too scared to let Paul D into her life but slowly she loosened up.  Ultimately she would share a part of herself, making her feel more and more vulnerable.

Terry Caesar does a good job of informing us what slavery was like for women, and how mothers and daughters have a huge role in the novel. I feel as if reading Beloved through the feminist lens, helped me understand how slavery could affect a mother's decision, like it did for Sethe. Caesar does an amazing job explaining how slavery and womanhood are linked. For example he says, “If motherhood and slavery are equitable, than a mother can feel she is, exactly, a slave to her daughter, just as a daughter can to her mother. Furthermore, a mother can conceivably kill a child in order to protect her own self possession, because she feels enslaved by her..” I feel that this is a very strong statement. That daughters and mothers are slaves to one another. I definitely see this in Beloved because Denver would do anything for Sethe, as for Sethe would do anything for Denver. You do not hear about Sethe doing anything for her two other boys, but rather Denver and Beloved. Which makes me question whether their gender has a role to play? Do women feel more enslaved to their girls, or to men?  I would also never think that because a woman feels enslaved to her daughter that the only way to protect her is to kill her.

I recommend everyone to read Terry Caesar’s Beloved interpretation because it opens you to many new ideas and questions. While reading the novel through a feminist lens you also see how strong the mother daughter relationship, and slavery play a role in Toni Morrison's Beloved.