On Causes for Distorted Motherhood in Toni Morrison’s Beloved

王若男

Abstract： Beloved， as Toni Morrisons greatest work， won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1993. This paper focuses on the causes of twisted motherhood， particularly from the theory of Maslows hierarchy of needs.

Key Words： Sethes motherhood； cause； Maslows hierarchy needs

1.Introduction

1.1 Research background

In “In the Name of Memory” which is written by Clarence Major， he discussed the theme of memory. Morrison places the theme of memory together with the romantic couple Sethe and Paul D. Mary Panicca Carden also talks the theme in “Modles of Memory and Romance： The Dual Endings of Toni Morrisons Beloved.” But many critics overlook it. Zhang Ruwen talks about the theme of freedom and mother love. Hu Yubheng discusses the literary meaning of characters， main themes， and creative ideas of Beloved.

1.2 Focus of this paper

This paper analyzes the distorted mother love from the perspective of Maslows hierarchy of needs. Maslow holds that only when the low level needs satisfied， can one have the high-level needs. Not having been satisfied， even to the low level， Sethe kills her own child as a way of revolting.

2. Causes for twisted motherhood

2.1 Abandonment of Sethe

Infant Sethe was nursed for two or three weeks which could guarantee the survival of a child. After nurturing her， her mother must go back to the farm to make profit for the slaveholders. Sethe was longing for maternal love and she complained“she never fixed my hair or nothing”（Morrison 231）With the growth of Sethe， she could understand the condition of the slavery but she still remembered her mothers absence. She denied the love and concern from her mother when her mother was alive. In slavery， for African Americans， it was difficult to form ones own subjectivity and personality. Sethe suffered from the deprivation of motherhood which gave her the determination to kill her child. The abandonment by her directly led to the twisted motherhood mother from neither the physical nor the emotional.

2.2 The conflicts between human needs and the social environment

Abraham Maslow holds the opinion that all human behavior are caused by needs. He proposes five gradations of human needs. The first is physiological needs which are the fundamental needs of peoples survival including breath， water， food， sleep， physiological balance， and sex. The second is "Safety Needs： Security， Order， and Stability". Next are social needs. As a member of the society， all the people need the sense of belonging， including friendship and group. Interpersonal communication needs sympathy and praise from each other. Then that is the needs of esteem， including being respected by others and ones own esteem. The last one is the self-actualization needs which mean that one can achieve ones expectation through his efforts. These five gradations can be categorized as high level and low level. Physiological needs safe needs and emotional needs belong to low level which could be satisfied by external conditions. However， the needs of respect and self-achievements are high-level needs which could be achieved by internal factors and the needs of esteem and self-achievements are everlasting. Maslows hierarchy of needs proposes that human needs are natural and internal， and it is according to the order of development. It has no incentive function when the needs are satisfied.

According to Maslow， a person has the high level needs after the lower level needs are satisfied. However， Sethe had not been satisfied， even the lowest level needs were not met. She had been without a stable life. The basic living conditions were not guaranteed. Such a life was breathtaking， which aroused Sethe's revolt. And a weak woman's resistance was to let the slave owners lose the chance to hold her child because the slaves were their private property. Finally， Sethe was accused of plundering property not murder， which explained this view vividly.

3 Conclusion

Toni Morrison was the first black America woman writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. She makes great contributions to world literature， especially the black women literature. In Beloved， she explains the cruel slavery which leaves deep shadow in peoples mind. She analyzes black peoples struggle and twisted motherhood under the oppression of racism and sexism. She sings high praise of Sethes braveness and selflessness. At the same time， it also gives the world's black women hope. It is the sincere hope of the author that this paper on twisted motherhood could do some help in the further study.

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