Toni Morrison’s Beloved (Southern Gothic Literature)
I believe Beloved by Toni Morrison is a good example of contemporary southern Gothic literature because it deals with the brutality of slavery and the supernatural. Sethe, the main character, has a direct connection to slavery. Though her years of enthrallment are behind her, she feels the past pulling at her and those around her. She is also confronted by a young woman named Beloved, the name she had for her daughter when she was alive. It’s revealed that Sethe killed her daughter named Beloved to protect her from slavers by forcibly drowning her. It’s never made clear in the narrative whether or not Beloved is the ghost of Sethe’s daughter, or if it’s just some strange coincidence.
