Sethe

E68912

Sethe is the formerly enslaved protagonist of Toni Morrison's novel "Beloved," haunted by the trauma of her past and the ghost of the daughter she killed.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf fictional character
former slave
literary character
protagonist
appearsIn Beloved
backstoryLocation Sweet Home plantation
centralConflict confrontation with the embodied ghost Beloved
struggle to live with the memory of infanticide
child Beloved (infant daughter)
Buglar
Denver NERFINISHED
Howard
createdBy Toni Morrison
enslavedAt Sweet Home plantation
enslavedBy Mr. Garner
Schoolteacher
firstPublicationContext Beloved (1987 novel)
formerStatus enslaved woman
fugitive slave
gender female
hauntedBy ghost of her dead daughter
kills her infant daughter
livesWith Baby Suggs (formerly)
Denver NERFINISHED
Paul D (for a time)
mother unnamed African-born enslaved woman
motherInLaw Baby Suggs
nationalityInFiction American
notableAction attempts escape from slavery while pregnant
gives birth to Denver during escape
occupation farm laborer
psychologicalState haunted by past trauma
raceOrEthnicity African American
reasonForKillingDaughter to prevent her return to slavery
relationshipTypeWithPaulD romantic relationship
relationshipWith Paul D
residesAt 124 Bluestone Road
setting Cincinnati, Ohio NERFINISHED
spouse Halle Suggs
symbolizes the psychological scars of slavery
themeInvolvement guilt and redemption
memory and trauma
motherhood
slavery and its aftermath
timePeriod Reconstruction era
post–American Civil War era
trauma sexual violence during enslavement
the theft of her breast milk

Referenced by (4)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Paul D
cohabitsWith
Denver
hasMother
Paul D
hasRelationshipWith
Beloved
mainCharacter

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