Summary
Like a parasite, Beloved begins to drain Sethe’s life
force. Sethe arrives at work later every morning until she loses
her job. The food in the house begins to run low, and Sethe sacrifices
her portion for Beloved, who grows fat while Sethe wastes away.
Beloved wears Sethe’s clothing and copies her mannerisms until Denver
has trouble telling them apart. Their roles merge and invert as
Sethe comes to act like a child while Beloved looms over her like
a mother. When Sethe tries to assert herself, Beloved reacts violently
and breaks things, and the two fight constantly. Sethe points out
how much she has suffered for her children, but Beloved accuses
her of leaving her behind. Denver begins to fear that Beloved will
kill her mother.
Denver decides to leave 124 to
find help. Before she can do so, she needs (and gets) some encouragement
from the spirit of Baby Suggs, because Denver hasn’t left the house
by herself in twelve years and fears the outside world. Not knowing
where else to turn, Denver goes to the house of her former teacher,
Lady Jones.
Although part of the black community, Lady Jones has yellow hair
and gray eyes. Ironically, Lady Jones was chosen to attend a school
in Pennsylvania for “colored” girls because of her light skin. Afterward,
she devoted herself to teaching those who were not picked to attend
school. Because she loathes her yellow hair, she married the darkest
man she could find. She is convinced that everyone, including her
own children, despises her and her hair.
Omitting mention of Beloved, Denver explains that her
mother is sick and asks Lady Jones if there is any work she can
do in exchange for food. Lady Jones knows of no work, but she tells
everyone at church about Sethe’s troubles. Denver begins finding
plates and baskets of food on the tree stump in front of 124.
Many include a slip of paper with the donator’s name, and as Denver
ventures out to return the containers to their owners she becomes
acquainted with the community. Lady Jones also offers her weekly
reading lessons.
As the trouble at 124 continues,
Denver visits the Bodwins for help. Their black maid, Janey, answers
the door and recognizes Denver as a relative of Baby Suggs. Denver
tells her about Beloved, and Janey circulates the story around town.
Denver secures a job with the Bodwins, but as she leaves their house
she is disturbed by the sight of a figurine on display. The statuette
is a slave who holds coins in its mouth. At its base is a tag that
reads: “At Yo’ Service.”
Ella hears Denver’s story. Although she sees
Beloved’s tormenting presence as a fair punishment for Sethe’s act
of infanticide, she does not believe that the punishment is “right,”
because she believes that past sins should stay in the past. She
empathizes with Sethe because she also once refused to care for
her child. The child was born of abuse after Ella had been locked
up for a year and repeatedly raped by a father and son. Ella decides
to rally a group of roughly thirty black women to exorcise Beloved
from 124. They march to Sethe’s house, where
Denver is waiting for Mr. Bodwin to pick her up for work.
