Traumatizing Memories (Figuration of Rape and the Supernatural in Beloved)

In the novel Beloved it is haunted by awful memories and their history. Yet specifically Sethe is haunted by the memory of rape. Memories of this horrible moment is harsh to even forget. In order for Sethe to prevent this to happen to her children Sethe had killed her oldest daughter and then tried to kill Denver when she was just a baby. But thanks to Stamp Paid. he had taken Denver from Sethe. No Sethe wasn’t crazy she was doing it to protect them. She didn’t want her children to got through what she had gone through. She want her daughters to get raped and have that as a terrible memory.

This is not only a terrible memory that Sethe has but with all black women slaves. If they were to have a child of a white man they would throw them. The only reason the women do this is because they don't’ want to breastfeed or take care of a child that is a memory of traumatizing moment. But going more into Sethes situation, while she was being raped by white men, her husband was just watching. She is more disturbed that her husband saw what they were doing to her, yet he did nothing about, but to abandon Sethe.

The psychoanalytic lens has also supported the idea of haunting of awful memories. This is because memories can not be forgotten. She is living a life where she can’t forget her past. Especially because Sethe is emotionally traumatized by the raping incidents. How can you forget something like that? One can’t just get raped and forget about it the instant that it is over. That says in your head forever and one can’t do anything about it. Memories are forever. Once one is to return to the place that it happened, it just all comes back to you.