Hmmm. The very next section is from the pov of Denver, Sethe’s daughter. It tells us nothing new, not really. It seems that Morrison is now indeed repeating the story, calling up things we’ve been told in the rolling out of the story–which was so strategically done–and giving us the same events to perhaps point out their importance, significance, truth, or something more.
Beloved is my sister. I swallowed her blood right along with my mother’s milk. The first thing I heard after not hearing anything was the sound of her crawling up the stairs. She was my secret company until Paul D came. He threw her out. Ever since I was little she was my company and she helped me wait for my daddy. (p. 205)
We’ve seen the scenario of when Sethe, after having killed Beloved, puts the baby Denver to her breast, her nipple still wet with Beloved’s blood. We’ve heard a zillion times about the toddler Beloved’s fascination with the stairs (metaphor for a higher plateau of existence, death preferable to a life of slavery?). And we know that Denver, feeling isolated, enjoyed the company of the child’s ghost. And all the rest that Denver reveals in this short section. We also have not only the other character’s understanding of Denver, but have come to the same conclusion about her ourselves from her actions.
Somehow, I’m dragged down by these past two segments of direct communication from Sethe and Denver, as it doesn’t really offer insight, nor inspire feeling above what was there for the characters themselves. It almost feels as if Morrison has lost steam or not sure where the story is going.
The next short section appears to be from Beloved herself.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
This doesn’t sound like a very meaningful story.