Who is the Beloved

【Abstract】In Beloved， Toni Morrison， through excavating the relationship between female and nature from the peculiar angle of a woman writer， demonstrates the strong desire of black women to get rid of the miserable fate of slavery and pursue liberation and independence.The paper provides a new way of reading the novel by adopting ecofeminist view.

【Key Words】Toni Morrison； Beloved； Ecofeminism

【摘要】托尼·莫里森在她的小说《宠儿》的叙述中从女性作家的独特视角挖掘了女性与自然的关系，体现了黑人女性摆脱梦魇般的悲惨命运，追求解放与独立的强烈愿望。本短文从生态女性主义的观点解读该部小说，提供了理解这部小说的新视角。

【关键词】托尼·莫里森 《宠儿》 生态女性主义

As the first African-American women writer to receive the Noble Prize for literature， Toni Morrison drowned herself in the themes of racial and feminism in her writing career.Her novel Beloved won the Pulizer Prize in 1988.Morrison writes history with the voices of a people historically forced silence and denied the power of language.

As an interdisciplinary perspective， ecofeminism is a relatively new movement in literary criticism.It studies the relationship of women and nature under the anthropocentric oppression framework.For ecofeminists， nature， women， and other underclass groups are all victims of the anthropocentric dualism.

Set during the reconstruction era in 1873， Beloved centers on the powers of memory and history.For the former slaves in the novel， the past is a burden that they desperately and willfully try to forget.Yet for Sethe， the protagonist of the novel， memories of slavery are inescapable.

1.Ecofeminist ideas in Beloved.Every major characters in the novel have all kinds of relation with nature， and the plants and nature represent salvation， comfort and spiritual support for the slaves.In Beloved， the tree image on Sethes back， Denvers emerald room， Baby Suggs preaching in the clearing， Paul Ds tree brother， are all manifestations of nature.Nature plays an important role in each characters understanding and salvation of themselves.

As a slave， Sethe endured the physical， emotional， sexual， and spiritual trauma at Sweet Home.More specifically， the tree shape formed by the scars might symbolize Sethes incomplete family tree.

Sethes youngest child， Denver inclined to spend hours alone in her “emerald closet”， made by boxwood bushes of trees and bushes， which brins Dever the sense of comfort and protect.It is the contact with nature that gives Denver the feeling of peace and quiet of mind.

Sethes mother in-law， Baby Suggs holds religious gatherings at a place called the Clearing， where she teaches her followers to love their voices， bodies and minds.That sight shows the readers a peaceful harmonious picture of human and nature， individual and community， which is just ecofeminism search for.

Paul·D called a tree “brother” in the plantation-Sweet Home.Paul·D followed the flowering trees to the north and survive.So， Paul·Ds freedom is embellished by flowers and trees， symbolizing regeneration and hope.

2.The supportive relationship between individual and community.Through the show of the relationship between man and woman， the blacks and whites， individual and community， Beloved explores that in order to survive， one must go out and get help from the whole community.In fact， both of the alienation and harmony revealed by the novel are the views of ecofeminism that everything is a unity and can not be seperated.

1.Alienation.The communitys failure to alert Sethe to schoolteachers approach leads the death of Sethes daughter， which mades the poor Sethe almost go mad under the complicated and twist express of her daughters love and hatry.

2.Harmony.During Sethes running away， a white girl， Amy Denver， finds her and nurses her back to health.Paul·D and his fellow in Georgia successfully escape only by working together.At the end of the novel， the black community makes up for its past misbehavior by gathering at 124 to collectively exorcise Beloved， and it is the community that saves Sethe from mistakenly killing.

3.Conclusion.Beloved not only exposes the physical， emotional， and spiritual devastation wrought by slavery suffered by those slaves， but also reflects the closed and harmonious relationship between human and nature， individual and community， and permeates with ecofeministic ideas.At the same time， Morrison also puts forward the criticize towards patriarchy， slavery， racial discrimination and sexual discrimination， and calls for women to pursue their rights.

References：

[1]王雁飞.《宠儿》的生态女性主义解读[J].P5.

[2]Deborah L.Madsen.Feminist Theory and Literary Practice[M].Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.2006.

[3]Toni Morrison.Beloved[M].Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.2005.P16-17.

作者简介：王文静，女，内蒙古人，在读研究生，研究方向：英美文学。