Beloved | Part 4

“The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. It’s good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind.” —Sixo to Paul D.Only this woman, Sethe could have left him his manhood like that. He wanted to put his story next to hers.Welcome to our final episode of Beloved, by Toni Morrison. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss the first images, and any Scripture that came to them when they finished the novel. They discussed axes, fruit, chopping down, our creature limitations and the devastations we aren’t meant to carry. They discuss the four strange chapters at the beginning of this section; the “thoughts of the women of 124, unspeakable thoughts, unspoken.” (235) They read aloud the unspoken conversation and discuss the ways in which, when read this way, it sounds a little like the call and response of a Black Spiritual. They discuss why possession v. love, why the women of the community were the only ones who could exorcise Beloved, and Paul D was the only one who could heal Sethe’s brokenness. Finally, they ask themselves: “What do I say is my best thing? What do I act like is my best thing?” Our next book is Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. We will read it over three weeks.Here is the breakdown:* June 23: Chapters 1-7* June 30: Chapters 8-15* July 7: Chapters 16-24Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer! If you liked this episode, please hit the ❤️ button and share it with others.The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our literary work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe