Beloved Analysis
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In this analysis of Beloved, I will be examining the development of the relationship between Sethe, Beloved, and Denver. I will also be discussing what accounts for Beloved's entrance into the novel and why she emerges when she does, what Denver and Sethe's initial responses to Beloved are, how the increasing importance of Beloved to Sethe and Denver changes their relationship to the outside world, how the relationship between the three changes as the novel proceeds, who Beloved is and what she wants, and what Sethe and Denver want from her. These characters all influence and affect each other throughout the novel.
Beloved arrives in chapter five, and her coming seems to interrupt the developments made in the previous chapter. The relationship between Sethe, Paul D, and Denver all seem to be on a very positive note in chapter four, and Beloved's arrival at that particular time is significant because it is around the time when Sethe is beginning to feel comfortable about confronting her past.
The mysterious Beloved is described as a fully clothed woman who emerges from a stream and sits on the steps of 124, where Sethe, Denver, and Paul D find her. At the moment of coming across Beloved, Sethe is reminded of when her water broke before Denver's birth.
Although it is unknown, Beloved is most believably thought to be the reincarnated spirit of Sethe's murdered daughter, and though the characters believe this to be true, they still treat her as if she is just an ordinary guest.
From the moment of her arrival, she has an effect on the characters in the novel and things begin to change.
Initially, Denver is infatuated by Beloved's stories and by the past, and is very intent on caring for her upon her arrival...