REPRESENTATION OF ‘GHOST’ IN TONI MORRISON’S BELOVED AS A SYMBOL OF UNRESOLVED TRAUMA
Indah Dwi Hardiasmara
English Literature Department Faculty of Adab and Humanities Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta
ABSTRACT
This research examines the impact of trauma, particularly that stemming from historical events such as slavery, on individuals and communities. Using Cathy Caruth's theory, this research highlights how trauma disrupts memory and reality, making it difficult for victims to articulate their experiences. Toni Morrison's novel Beloved provides an in- depth case study of this phenomenon, where the character of Beloved represents the unresolved trauma and collective suffering of the African-American community. This research aims to analyze two key aspects of the character of Beloved: the representation of Sethe's personal trauma and the symbolism of the collective trauma experienced by the African-American community. The method used is qualitative with a textual analysis approach, focusing on depicting the manifestation of trauma through Beloved as a supernatural entity. The findings show that Beloved functions as a haunting reminder of the past, illustrating how unresolved trauma can disrupt individual lives and collective memory.
The pattern of repetition in traumatic memories emphasizes the importance of the community to confront painful histories for the sake of healing. The research concludes that literature, through the representation of ghosts and beloved characters, plays an important role in understanding and processing trauma, as well as addressing historical wounds to achieve collective healing.
Keywords: Trauma, Cathy Caruth, Beloved
INTRODUCTION
Traumatic experiences often leave a deep and elusive impact, especially when they are the result of systematic and repeated violence, such as slavery. This type of trauma not only affects the individual who experienced it directly, but can also impact subsequent generations, forming what is often referred to as collective or transgenerational trauma. In a literary context, many works attempt to depict these traumatic experiences in unique ways, often in the form of metaphors or symbols that represent emotions and memories that are difficult to explain. Trauma is a profound experience that is often difficult to put into words. According to Cathy Caruth, trauma is an experience that not only physically or emotionally injures, but also disrupts the way a person understands memory and reality (Caruth, 1996). Severe trauma, especially those rooted in extreme violence such as slavery, can produce inner wounds that continue to haunt the victim even after the event has ended. Toni Morrison's novel Beloved depicts trauma through the supernatural character Beloved, a ghostly figure who symbolizes the deep wounds of unresolved slavery. In literature, trauma is often depicted through specific symbols or characters that show how traumatic memories resurface and disrupt a person's life.
In Beloved, the character of Sethe is haunted by memories of her past filled with the suffering of slavery. His tragic decision to kill his own son to avoid slavery is at the centre of the emotional conflict that shapes the story. The trauma does not just go away; instead, it resurfaces in the form of Beloved, a ghostly character who is present to relive the memories and guilt that
Sethe has long suppressed. Beloved's presence forces Sethe to confront her painful past, thus this character serves as a symbol of the unresolved trauma that continues to haunt individuals who try to forget it. Caruth states that trauma is an experience that ‘keeps coming back’ in the form of memories or events that are difficult to explain (Caruth, 1996). The figure of Beloved symbolises how trauma can be tangible and invade a person's life, making the painful past difficult to ignore.
Sethe is a former slave who lives with guilt and bitter memories from her past. The traumatic decision to kill her own child, in order to save her from the experience of slavery, is an emotional burden that she has difficulty letting go of. Beloved, who is believed to be the incarnation of Sethe's dead child, comes as a supernatural entity that relives all the pain, fear and regret that Sethe has tried to hide. In trauma analysis, this concept is very relevant to Caruth's theory that trauma is an experience that ‘keeps coming back’ in the form of memories or events that are difficult to explain. The figure of Beloved symbolises how trauma can be tangible and invade a person's life, making the painful past difficult to ignore (Scheel & Scheel Toni Morrison, 2010).
This study uses Cathy Caruth's theory of trauma as the basis for analysis, focusing on how trauma depicted in the form of Beloved shows the effects of repetition compulsion. Caruth states that trauma often comes in the form of repetition of memories or experiences that ‘compel’ the individual to face the pain despite trying to forget it (Caruth, 1996). In Beloved, Morrison depicts Sethe constantly interacting with the figure of Beloved as an attempt to confront or ‘reconcile’
with the trauma she has suppressed. This approach allows us to understand that the character of Beloved is a form of memory that is difficult to express yet lives on and recurs in the lives of the characters affected by it.
The purpose of this research is to analyze two important aspects of Beloved's presence as a representation of Sethe's unresolved personal trauma, and as a symbol of the African-American community's collective trauma due to the history of slavery. By answering these two main questions, this research aims to reveal how trauma not only changes Sethe's life but also affects the way her community views and deals with the past. It is hoped that this analysis will provide greater insight into how literature can help us understand the long-term effects of trauma and the importance of confronting the painful past in order to truly heal.
METHODS
This research uses a qualitative method with a textual analysis approach, in which data is collected and analyzed from the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison. This method was chosen due to its characteristics that allow in-depth exploration of the symbolism of trauma through the character of Beloved as a supernatural entity. Using Cathy Caruth's theory of trauma as an analytical framework, this research focuses on how trauma is presented in the form of ghosts that invade the life of the main character, Sethe. Data was collected by identifying narratives, dialogues, and story sections that show Beloved's influence on Sethe's traumatic experience.
The first step in the analysis was to read the text carefully to find elements that relate to the trauma and repetition of traumatic memories experienced by Sethe. Next, the researcher identified passages where the character of Beloved emerged as a manifestation of unresolved trauma, noting patterns of repetition and reiteration of traumatic memories. These passages were then analyzed using Caruth's theory, specifically the concept of how trauma reappears in the form of memories or repetitions of events that are difficult to control.
DISCUSSIONS
Trauma is not simply the result of destruction or hurt from a painful event, but also includes the mystery or puzzle of how a person can survive after experiencing that traumatic event. In Caruth's view, trauma contains a paradox: on the one hand, a traumatic event destroys a person's sense of security and stability in life, but on the other hand, trauma also leaves a mark that forces the person to remain connected to the event, as if they are surviving to remember it and be attached to it. “I will argue in what follows that trauma is not simply an effect of destruction but also, fundamentally, an enigma of survival.” (Caruth, 1996).
In the novel Beloved, the character Beloved serves as a representation of the deep trauma experienced by Sethe, especially the traumatic experience related to slavery and the painful decision she makes to kill her own child to save him from slavery. According to Cathy Caruth in trauma theory, traumatic memories often resurface in inexplicable and repetitive forms, or
‘repetition compulsion.’ In Sethe's case, Beloved is the physical embodiment of this trauma not just as a ghostly character, but as a symbol of the unresolved experience. Beloved's presence confirms Caruth's concept that trauma brings victims back to the event over and over again, forcing them to ‘relive’ the painful experience, often with no control over when or how the memories arise.
Sethe is not just reminded of the event, but actually re-experiences the guilt and loss every time she interacts with Beloved. Caruth highlights that trauma blurs the boundaries between the past and the present, so that the experience is not only remembered but comes back to life as if living in the presence of the victim, as it did for Sethe.
Furthermore, Caruth explains that trauma is not only present as a personal memory, but also contains ‘messages’ or ‘demands’ to be recognised, which can often only be understood through a deep confrontation with the traumatic memory. In this novel, Beloved becomes a
‘mirror’ that forces Sethe to confront the traumatic events she has tried to forget, suggesting that true healing requires coming to terms with the trauma and pain in a more open way. Sethe, who has avoided facing her guilt for years, is finally forced to accept that the trauma is a part of her.
Through this emotional journey, Toni Morrison illustrates that healing can only be achieved when Sethe is ready to acknowledge and integrate the traumatic experience as part of herself, instead of continuing to run away from it.
One relevant part is when Sethe feels Beloved's presence physically and emotionally invading her life. Beloved is not only present in memories, but is tangibly present in their home, reminding Sethe of her guilt and tragic decisions. In Caruth's perspective, trauma is difficult to express because it holds events that cannot be directly understood by human memory. Sethe feels
trapped in the trauma, and Morrison portrays this through the presence of Beloved, who relives the traumatic event with the same intense emotional power as when it took place.
“Don’t even leave me again. You will never leave me again…I drank your blood. I brought your milk…I loved you. You hurt me” (P. 184-185).
Beloved expresses Beloved's deep desire to reclaim the connection with Sethe, which is perceived as a possessive bond, reminding Sethe of the mother-child relationship that ended in a traumatic way. The trauma Sethe experienced through the killing of her child to spare her from slavery returns in the form of Beloved, who now manifests ‘blood’ and ‘milk’ symbolically reliving the painful moment. From Caruth's perspective, trauma is an experience that is ‘not fully processed by the mind and always returns in an elusive form.’ As such, Beloved becomes an
‘apparition’ of unspoken pain and longing, and her presence forces Sethe to continue feeling her guilt as if the tragic event is still alive before her eyes.
“Longer and more pulsating than the baby blood that soaked her fingers like oil” (P.12)
This reflects the profound emotional impact of Sethe's trauma as well as Sethe's haunting memory of the traumatic event, combining the physical element of the baby's ‘blood’ with intense descriptions that are almost difficult to deal with. According to Caruth, trauma is an experience that returns through fragmentary memories, full of haunting feelings and painful sensations, in which the trauma victim is ‘caught in an inescapable cycle of repetition of the traumatic experience.’ (‘Beloved’ Criticism: Psychoanalysis and Trauma Theory, n.d.) The baby's blood that
‘fills’ Sethe's fingers is not just a memory; it is proof that this traumatic experience never really ends. This blood is not only a sign of guilt, but also a symbol of the trauma that cannot be removed from her consciousness, recurring and pressing on Sethe at the most unexpected moments.
Caruth explains that trauma often comes in the form of ‘disturbances’ or events that are not fully understood, often invading the victim through memories or intense sensory experiences. In Sethe's case, Beloved's presence as a tangible figure in her home is a manifestation of unprocessed traumatic memories. Instead of being a memory that can be ignored, the trauma takes the form of a ‘ghost’ that cannot be ignored, physically present to replay the pain and guilt that Sethe felt at the loss of her child. In other words, Beloved is a living reminder of the wounds that remain open- a representation that unaddressed trauma will continue to consume the victim, as Caruth highlights that trauma is a story that repeats itself, but is never spoken in a form that can truly be understood.
In addition, the character of Beloved also shows the impact of collective trauma felt by the African-American community who suffered from the history of slavery. Beloved becomes a representation of the wounds not only experienced by Sethe, but also by everyone in her community who had similar experiences. In Caruth's perspective, collective trauma cannot be healed by simply forgetting the past; it requires an effort to confront the memories again, as Sethe experiences when interacting with Beloved. At this point, the novel shows how Sethe begins to be
isolated from society due to Beloved's presence, which further demonstrates that the trauma of slavery not only affects individuals but also impacts social relations and the community as a whole.
"Slaves not supposed to have pleasurable feelings on their own; their bodies not supposed to be like that, but they have to have as many children as they can to please whoever owned them”
(P.177).
This quote illustrates the collective trauma experienced by slaves in America, especially African-American women. It shows how slaves' bodies were completely owned by their owners, with no room for personal experience or desire (Toni Morrison & Professor, 2021). In the case of women like Sethe, their bodies were not only forced to work but also to reproduce, ordered to have as many children as possible to ‘please’ their masters. When collective trauma like this occurs, the effects affect not only the individual, but also the wider community and future generations.
According to Cathy Caruth, unprocessed and neglected trauma tends to live on in collective memory and experience, and she illustrates that trauma is not just a wound to the body, but also to collective memory that cannot be healed unilaterally.
The repetitive narrative in this novel in the form of both dialogue and Sethe's internal monologue confirms the concept of repetition in Caruth's trauma theory. Caruth explains that trauma cannot be digested directly by the human mind, so these traumatic memories tend to recur in deep and painful forms. For example, Sethe's memories that keep returning to the decision to kill her son are present repeatedly in her interactions with Beloved. Through the character of Beloved, Morrison displays how trauma that is not faced will continue to live on in the form of a
‘ghost’ that will not stop haunting, illustrating that in order to achieve healing, Sethe must face her past in a different way.
“I was talking about time. It’s so hard for me to believe in it. Some things go. Pass on.
Some things just stay. I used to think it was my rememory” (P. 37).
Sethe's feelings of being trapped in a past trauma that is constantly present in her life, or what she calls ‘rememory.’ In Cathy Caruth's perspective, trauma is an experience that cannot be fully understood or processed by the human mind at the time it occurs, so these traumatic memories keep recurring without the individual's will to deal with them. Sethe's memories of the traumatic events she experienced including the decision to kill her son to spare him from slavery-never really go away. She experiences this trauma as if it is beyond her control, as if time does not apply to her and the event lives on in her mind.
Caruth argues that trauma creates disruptions to the normal concept of time because traumatic memories cannot be fully processed and integrated, so they remain in a persistently intrusive form, or as unwanted ‘returns’. Sethe feels that some things ‘stay’ like her trauma because, in her mind, these memories become events that continue to live, repeat, and never go away. These are what Caruth refers to as ‘deep and painful traumatic memories,’ which are difficult to let go of because they have become part of the way Sethe sees and understands her
world. Sethe's sense of time being ‘unreal’ or unbelievable shows that trauma has blurred the boundaries between past and present, creating a cycle of repetition that keeps her trapped in these memories.
Caruth explains that in order to achieve healing, trauma victims must confront their memories and try to understand the traumatic event differently. For Sethe, ‘rememory’ is a form of repetition that shows how the event remains alive and cannot go away. Trauma does not just become something that passes, but ‘stays’ as something real and present, disrupting her perception of time and her life as a whole.
Beloved's presence also serves as a mirror for Sethe and her community to face the dark past. Beloved does not only come to ‘haunt’ Sethe, but also serves as a trigger to encourage Sethe to face the trauma that she has been avoiding. Confronting trauma is part of the recovery process, and Sethe's interaction with Beloved provides a vivid illustration of the need to confront trauma in order to escape its influence. Through this emotional journey, Morrison shows that healing can only be achieved if Sethe is able to make peace with herself and her scarred past.
"To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay. The “better life” she believed she and Denver were living was simply not that other one." (P. 42)
This illustrates Sethe's inner conflict in dealing with past trauma. Her psychology is trapped in the fear of the past that continues to haunt her, making her feel that the only way to move on is to suppress the past. The unresolved past continues to haunt her. Sethe tries to avoid the past as a way to deal with life in the present. However, her past trauma doesn't really go away, but rather continues to hide and threaten to return, creating a deep fear that she and Denver might have to face the same horrors. According to Cathy Caruth, trauma creates a wound that cannot be ignored and will live on in the victim's memory, even if they try hard to avoid it. In Sethe's case, the past was not only avoided but also became a boundary that she could never fully cross, reflecting the need to confront the trauma itself in order to be truly free from its influence.
"Bit by bit, at 124 and in the Clearing, along with the others, she had claimed herself.
Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another." p. 84
Sethe attempts to regain control of her life and herself after slavery. Although she is legally free, she still struggles to regain her identity and dignity as an individual. Slavery not only took away her physical freedom, but also removed her ability to take ownership of her life. Sethe's first step in the healing process by trying to take ownership of her free self. However, as Caruth explains, dealing with trauma involves not only freeing oneself from past experiences but also uniting oneself with aspects that have been separated by the trauma. The trauma that Sethe and her community experienced was not only related to the loss of physical freedom but also a deep loss of identity.
Caruth states that trauma brings ‘undeniable repetition,’ and in this context, Beloved's presence serves as a ‘mirror’ that forces Sethe to revisit the wounds (Caruth, 1996), illustrating that healing is not only about separating from the past but also about reuniting with the wounded and hidden aspects of the self. By confronting trauma through Beloved's presence, Morrison suggests that in order to achieve true healing, Sethe must come to terms with her past and accept full ownership of herself free from traumatic influences.
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
Beloved is not only a symbol of personal trauma, but also represents the shared experience of a community with a similar history of violence. Through this symbol, Morrison shows that trauma cannot be overcome by simply forgetting about it, it needs to be confronted and accepted.
Caruth refers to this process as healing through confrontation, where acknowledging the existence of trauma is the first step in escaping the haunting shadow of trauma. In Beloved, trauma is not just a wound from the past, but an ongoing journey for the victims, creating a repetition that blurs the line between past and present. Beloved, as a representation of Sethe's trauma, shows that trauma is not just a painful memory but is emotionally bound to the victims, shaping their identity.
In addition, research on collective healing can be done by looking at how communities deal with trauma through historical or cultural narratives. Research can also be extended by comparing Morrison's work with other literary works that explore trauma from the perspective of victims, showing how personal and collective trauma is present in different cultures and histories. By doing so, we can better understand the role of literature in helping trauma survivors make sense of their experiences.
REFERENCES
“Beloved” Criticism: Psychoanalysis and Trauma Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://scalar.lehigh.edu/toni-morrison/beloved-criticism-psychoanalysis-and-trauma Caruth, C. (1996). Unclaimed experience : trauma, narrative, and history. 154.
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Vintage. 1987.
Scheel, C. W., & Scheel Toni Morrison, C. W. (2010). Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” : a traumatic book on the trauma of slavery ?" : a traumatic book on the trauma of slavery ?. Syllabus : Revue scientifique interdisciplinaire de l’. 1. http://univ-
metz.academia.edu/CharlesScheel/Papers
Toni Morrison, B., & Professor, A. (2021). Collective Trauma And Post Memory In “Beloved.”
International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 9, 2320–2882. www.ijcrt.org