"I had milk," she said. "I was pregnant with Denver but I had milk for my baby girl. I hadn't stopped nursing her when I sent her on ahead with Howard and Buglar." Now she rolled the dough out with a wooden pin. "Anybody could smell me long before he saw me. And when he saw me he'd see the drops of it on the front of my dress. Nothing I could do about that. All I knew was I had to get my milk to my baby girl. Nobody was going to nurse her like me. Nobody was going to get it to her fast enough, or take it away when she had enough and didn't know it. Nobody knew that she couldn't pass her air if you held her up on your shoulder, only if she was lying on my knees. Nobody knew that but me and nobody had her milk but me. I told that to the women in the wagon. Told them to put sugar water in cloth to suck from so when I got there in a few days she wouldn't have forgot me. The milk would be there and I would be there with it."(Morrison 19)
This passage demonstrates Sethe’s values as a woman and mother. As a slave woman she had nothing that belonged to her, but her children. Toni Morrison uses repetition, “Nobody was going to get it fast enough...Nobody knew that she couldn't pass her air if you held her up on your shoulder...Nobody knew that but me and nobody had her milk but me”, to show the love of a mother, and the things Sethe treasures the most.
Slaves were property, women were property, no one was really free back in the day. Sethe wanted her children to be free and well. In this passage we can feel the desperation of a mother who send her children off before her, for the better. Sethe had already lost a child, keeping her children safe and away from slavery was desire. Knowing she could have been bought again or hunt down by her previous master made Sethe value and treasure the moments she had with her children. This passage also shows what a women really values, as a slave and a mother. Back in the day slaves were not free if they would run away the masters would hunt them down. If Sethe was caught running then what would happen to her children? Who would care for them when she was gone? No one will ever love and care for your own children, but you. she valued so much her children, that she was willing to sacrifice for her children.
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ReplyDeleteI like how you talk about how Sethe loves her children and how she would do anything to take care of them. You also talk about women's values and the ones of a mothers'. It really helped me understand how Sethe feels. Keep up the good work ;)
ReplyDeleteMichel you do an amazing job explaining how Sethe wasn't rich with money but rich with love for her children. Sethe loved her children more than she even loved Paul D. And similar to Abby-Luu you to a good job in expression women's values
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ReplyDeleteThis gives great explanation as to what love is and what a mother treasures the most even though she has nothing at all. It is touching knowing that she still cherishes her time with her children even when all the odds and circumstances were against her
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good point of view. I like how you explain Sethe's relationship with her children.
ReplyDeleteI love how you define and explain the mother and daughter relationship between Sethe and her two girls. We can see Sethe's strong love for her children in her decisions as a mother.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good post! I like how you remind us that Sethe didn't own anything but her children, therefore she wanted them to not experience what she did as a slave. This passage and your interpretation of it says a lot about mothers and their love for their children.
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