THE GHOST IN TONI MORRISON’S BELOVED: PARANORMAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENON?
THE GHOST IN TONI MORRISON’S BELOVED: PARANORMAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENON?

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyse whether the poltergeist in Toni Morrison’s novel is a paranormal or a psychological phenomenon. The paper will argue that the so-called ghost is just an element of grief according to Freud’s theory, a symbol of Sethe’s past. The name Beloved suggests an attachment of Sethe to the ghost, alluding to her affection for what she has lost. At the same time, Sethe needs to accept the loss, in order to be healthy. The ghost is also a part of Sethe herself, of what she was then, in conflict with what she is now. The past of Sethe is the past of her entire race, which becomes traumatic at a personal level not just at a public, historical level. Sethe needs to reconcile past and present in order to reconcile her own past and present identity and come to terms with her own present situation. Sethe’s situation reminds of that of the PTSD patients who are constantly disturbed by an imaginary repetition of the traumatic incident.

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