The theme of motherhood is ubiquitous in two of Morrison’s books, Beloved and Sula. Each novel presents a different interpretation of the mother; disparities offer different insights into the role of the mother.
In Beloved, Sethe and Baby Suggs are set in maternal style. Sethe loves her children completely and sees them as personal property that cannot be taken from her. The opposite is Baby Suggs, who does not remember many of her children and loving in affections for their own lest they be taken from her. and they would be left unharmed and vulnerable.
These two types of competition illustrate the conflict that the handmaids had in loving their children. The two women do not understand the other’s approach to motherhood. that in each one it cannot be clearly known from the two. The first occasion occurs when Sethe kills his beloved daughter in the cabin because he refuses to allow his daughter to be taken away and enslaved.
On the other hand, Baby Suggs witnesses the loss of each of her children and stands idly by as they are sold to various owners. Baby Suggs resigns herself and her children to this fate while Sethe fights to remain a caring mother, even while in the bonds of slavery.
The second instance occurs when Sethe tells Baby Suggs that she cannot breathe without her children. Sethe flaunting her life with her children is dangerous given the marriage in her life. Suggs, who is more distant and knowing, falls on his knees and prays to God to forgive Sethe, when he hears of this dependence on children. Child Suggs’ relationship with his children perpetuates the slave tradition and adheres to the patriarchal agenda of the white owner. In relation to her children, Sethe usurps the role of master and enjoys a sense of mastery over her children.
While these two women employ very different models of motherhood, the contrast between the two obscures the conflict between the woman being the mother and the servant. The ways in which these two handle the roles of Sethe and Baby Suggs are different, but the emotions they have for their children are similar.
A major distinction between the role of the mother in Sula and Beloved is that mothers in Sula are not subject to servitude. This discrepancy greatly affects the pattern of motherhood. In Beloved, mothers cared as much as they loved their children, but in Sula, mothers are more concerned than they love their children. Both Eve and Anna explain how they love their children, but not necessarily like that.
The distinction between love and the like is interesting in Sula, because she presents her children as subjects, unlike in Beloved where they are objects. Mothers in love were so concerned with loving their children that loving them was a luxury that never occurred to them. Eve and Anna do not love their children, but this does not hinder the ability of the mother. However, Baby Suggs and Sethe’s tendency to love too much or too little hinders their mother.
There is a thread that binds the mothers in these two novels. Both Eve and Sethe take the life of the child because they know it best as a mother and because they gave their life. they can also take away Anna and Baby Suggs were both separated from their children at an early age. Anna’s sexual inclinations separate her from Sula emotionally and then her death finally sever their relationship. The feeling of lack towards departure is manifested by the resignation of Sula at the vigil of her mother. Even the little one accepts this separation. This division of mother and child between Sula and Anna and Baby Suggs and her children is passively accepted. Eva and Sethe act out a separation, ironically in the name of unity and motherhood.
In Sula’s lack of love for her child, it is more a reflection of the child’s personality than the role of the mother. The separation of motherhood and self from others are clearer in Sula than in Beloved. To the extent that Eve and Sethe’s creator and destroyer speak to the power of motherhood, as the role of the mother is presented by Morrison, power is not to be reckoned with.
