Mother-love in Morrison's Beloved and A Mercy: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This paper attempts to explore the experiences of black mothers and their relation with their children, who are the victims of slavery and racism. Through the examination of Beloved (1987) and A Mercy (2008), it mirrors the pathetic condition of African slaves. Both the novels are filled with many female characters but here the attention is paid to maternal figures i. e. Sethe, the enslaved mother in Beloved and Minha Mae, the enslaved mother in A Mercy. Reflecting the societal forces used by Southern white men to emasculate Southern black voice, it shows how miserable the lives of black women, especially, the lives of black mothers, who are crippled by the chains of slavery and discrimination in American. Applying narrative inquiry approach, this paper demonstrates mother child bonds in Morrison's narratives. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to make an in-depth analysis of the mother-child relationship depicted in Toni Morrison’s Beloved and A Mercy. By narrating events, experiences, and conditions which make the black women's lives pathetic, this paper argues that whatever these women think, feel, and perform, is an outcome of slavery. The comparative analysis of Beloved and A Mercy challenges distorted views commonly associated with the black mother and extends the notions of mothering which are prescribed and practiced in dominant cultures