Thoughts on the Bodwin/Schoolteacher scene
I would like to go over my thoughts on the scene where Sethe attacked Mr. Bodwin, and how those thoughts changed throughout our class discussion. The scene is definitely an extremely significant one in the book, and tells us a lot about how Sethe has changed at this point in the novel, and the effect realizing Beloved has come back has had on her. The scene runs parallel to the earlier one of schoolteacher and co. ("the four horsemen") coming up the road to 124, one of the most important moments in the novel. However, this time nearly two decades later, Sethe makes a completely different decision, choosing to attack Mr. Bodwin where 18 years prior, she attempted to kill herself and her children to escape schoolteacher and Sweet Home.
One of the main views brought up in discussion was that this change in action signified the presence of guilt, regret, or at least doubt, in Sethe's mind about her decision 18 years ago. Initially, I really wasn't on-board with this. Sethe just seemed like such a pale comparison to who she had been before Beloved had started practically "consuming" her, that I thought she was just acting this way because she couldn't handle losing Beloved currently. What I mean by that is that Sethe didn't regret the actions she took when schoolteacher came to 124, and she still believes that was the best course of action in order to save all her children, but in this current-day reenactment, she would make a different decision simply because she cannot bear to lose the current version of Beloved, who's obsessed with the idea of Sethe having abandoned her. For this version of her daughter who already condemned her for leaving once, she would not leave again. For the baby-version, who was about to be sent to Sweet Home along with all of her other siblings, she would still make that hard decision.
But after thinking about it for a while, and specifically after a point someone brought up, I changed my mind completely (also, the fact that I had so much trouble articulating my thoughts in the above paragraph, and it's still probably incoherent, is probably a sign that I myself am not even sure what I thought). The point brought up was that this moment with Mr. Bodwin is basically a moment of rememory for Sethe (or PTSD), where she's not just imposing schoolteacher on top of Mr. Bodwin, but rather is transported back to that moment entirely. Mr. Bodwin has become schoolteacher, but the threat of returning to Sweet Home has also returned, along with the other specifics of that moment. Therefore, Sethe is making the decision to attack in what she perceives to be the exact situation she had been in 18 years ago. She's not alone in a house with only Beloved (and kind of Denver) left to lose, and with Sweet Home long behind her. Sethe's making the decision to attack 'schoolteacher' while presumably her mind goes through the same logic and weighing of decisions that she did 18 years ago, except this time she comes to a radically different course of action. This entire paragraph might seem incredibly obvious to some of you, but it was something that I hadn't initially thought of, and it took me until the correlation with rememory for me to think of it in this way.
Still, I do have some thoughts on the distinction between regret/wanting to do things differently, and guilt. I don't think I can articulate it well at this moment, as I'm still trying to figure it out myself, but they feel like two different things at the moment, and that Sethe can wish to take a different course of action without feeling guilty for her first one, and vice versa, that she can feel guilty without wishing to change her decision.
Sorry for the rambling, I hope it wasn't too incoherent!
Hey Maxine, I think you make some really interesting and thought provoking points here. Our period disappointingly didn't get to discuss this part of Beloved, which has left me still kind of at a loss for how I interpret the scene of Sethe attacking Mr. Bodwin. I think the reasoning behind this scene could be a combination of all of your interpretations, but I think I lean towards the idea that Beloved in adult form made Sethe reevalute her perspective of her "rememories," and in a way, made her regret them, for lack of a better word. Yeah, Sethe is originally 100% assured in her decision to kill Beloved to save her from slavery, but when she realizes that Beloved is her deceased child coming back to her, she lets out a lot of relief that I think represents some subconscious guilt and worry she had about her decision. However, when Beloved's nature turns resentful and hostile towards Sethe, it seems to break her. Beloved, the one person she thought understood her decision, hates her more than anyone else, and the prospect of that seems to destroy Sethe. Maybe that's why Sethe attempts to kill Mr. Bodwin, who she believes to be schoolteacher, because she can't live with the idea of Beloved resenting her even more. Or maybe she's trying to rewrite her rememory, in which she could create a world with just her and Beloved, and she won't let anyone disturb that world again. Lol this was most definitely incoherent, and I still don't know what I exactly think about this part, but I'm glad you brought it up. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Maxine, I think I found myself in a very similar situation reading and discussing this scene. I also found it hard to believe that Sethe regretted her actions when it had been continuously stated so strongly that she had no regrets, but at the same time I'm also unable to make a coherent argument for anything besides that option (believe me, I racked my brain the whole time we were discussing it in class trying to think of SOMETHING). The biggest problem to me really is that it really seems that Sethe's decision was effective. She saved her family from going back to Sweet Home and Beloved returned to her. But obviously, Sethe's actions show that there must be some guilt or regret or something there. I think I, like you have, need to think a bit more about the scene to really interpret it, but I'm glad to know that you were essentially struggling to understand it in the same way as I was at least. We can be confused together!
ReplyDeleteI balk at referring to Sethe making a "choice" or "decision" in really either of these scenes, but especially the latter, where she is not in the best mental or physical condition and seems to be experiencing something between a hallucination and a flashback. In both scenes Morrison employs the memorable imagery of "hummingbirds" pecking rapidly at Sethe's mind and driving her to do what she's going to do with no hesitation. She can't attack schoolteacher in the original scene--he is armed, and he's accompanied by other armed men. She runs and hides and tries to thwart him in another way, but "putting her children where he can't get them."
ReplyDeleteHer similarly impulsive and reflexive reaction to seeing Bodwin is more open to interpretation, but it does seem clear that the hat and horseback is enough to blur past and present, and for her to think she's running at schoolteacher, despite the fact that it makes no sense for him to be there. (It' s maybe a bit like when the narrator "baptizes" the minister whom he mistakes for Bledsoe in the lobby of the Men's House--why would Bledsoe even be there?)
Morrison may well be signifying here, though--as throughout the novel. Bodwin would seem to be the polar opposite of schoolteacher: an abolitionist who aided the Underground Railroad and is very proud of his actions (he is among those who led the movement to free Sethe from jail and to use her story to further the public argument opposed to slavery). But maybe Morrison is subtly suggesting that there may not be as much daylight between schoolteacher and Bodwin after all. This same idea is implied when Paul D wants to warn Denver, after she proudly informs him that Bodwin is trying to help her get into college and that he sees her as a "project," to be wary of schoolteachers with "projects."
Obviously they're not the same--just as the Daltons in _Native Son_ (Bodwin's spiritual descendants) aren't "the same" as the rabid racists protesting outside the courtroom. But to suggest that there's perhaps more in common between the white abolitionist and the white slave-breaker than meets the eye might be one additional way to interpret this case of mistaken identity?
This was a really compelling and eye-opening blog post! Also, there was no rambling at all!! This was so well written and stated. I thought it was super clear and coherent :)
ReplyDeleteI was also pretty confused overall about the scene with Mr. Bowdoin and interpreting Sethe’s reaction, though it really interested me. At first, I also had the same interpretation as the one you mentioned first, particularly about how Sethe couldn’t bear to leave her child again. I feel like it makes so much sense in the context of the story-- this event that happened about two decades ago continued to haunt Sethe to that day, showing (although she doesn’t really admit or discuss/confront this feeling) potential guilt or doubt. I agree that it would have been extremely difficult for Sethe to go through this again and the haunting to meet her once more. She just got to a place where she felt her actions all paid off and she felt confident about them, having Beloved back in human form, and wasn’t ready for that to be taken away again.
However, I also agree with this idea of “rememory,” particularly with how the two scenes evoke similar emotion and imagery, and how they were also at the same time direct opposites of each other. I thought this structure was so interesting!
I think that I most strongly agree with the first interpretation that you had, but I am also still trying to figure out this scene! This blog post, as well as the entire scene in the novel, were so well crafted and interesting to read.
Thanks!
I definitely agree that her behavior towards Bodwin is a sign of her character growth. In a way, this is also an evolution of her love. Before, she paradoxically had an issue where she loved so much that she was willing to hurt those she loved for their sake. Now, instead of taking the hard path that she did before, she is willing to take the much more dangerous path. She had attempted to kill her children before since she knew she had no other option. Technically she could have tried to fight school teacher, but she knew this was an impossible fight so she didn't even consider the possibility. This contrasts to the present where even though she could potentially lose or make things worse, she chooses to fight instead of "run away" like she did before. Overall, great post.
ReplyDeleteI think your connection between this scene and rememory is an important one for analyzing it, as I agree that Sethe's response seems to be a product of being mentally put back into the situation with schoolteacher. However, I lean more toward your initial stance that this change in action is not necessarily a sign of guilt or regret. I feel like there is not much in the novel that definitively indicates that Sethe feels truly guilty or regretful of her her killing of Beloved, and as Mr. Mitchell said in his comment, it doesn't seem like there is much thought behind Sethe's attempt to kill Bodwin. I think there is definitely reasons behind this change in action, but I think they lie more in the dynamic that develops between Sethe and Beloved. The two are extremely codependent by this point and Sethe had been trying so hard to get Beloved to forgive her for her actions, so it makes sense to me that Sethe would not try to repeat them at this point. I think she just could not bring herself to.
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