Blog #2 Critical Lens Close Reading_Karen

Text: Beloved by Toni Morrison
Critical Lens: Feminist

“Dog, she thought, and then remembered that she had not allowed him the time for taking it off. Nor herself time to take off her petticoat, and considering she had begun undressing before she saw him on the porch, that her shoes and stockings were already in her hand and she had never put them back on; that he had looked at her wet bare feet and asked to join her; that when she rose to cook he had undressed her further; considering how quickly they had started getting naked, you'd think by now they would be. But maybe a man was nothing but a man, which is what Baby Suggs always said. They encouraged you to put some of your weight in their hands and soon as you felt how light and lovely that was, they studied your scars and tribulations, after which they did what he had done: ran her children out and tore up the house” (26).

In this passage, Sethe’s character is reflecting on what had occurred proceeding to the sexual encounter with Paul D. She remembered that leading to the sexual encounter with Paul D, she “had not allowed him the time for taking off [his clothes]” and “she had begun undressing before she saw him on the porch”. They did not have enough time speaking before they both started undressing. Prior to this experience, Sethe was revealing to Paul D that her house was being regularly haunted by her dead daughter, which has brought many complications. Sethe had not seen or talked to Paul D since they were in Sweet Home. After speaking with each other for a few minutes, they decided to feel something for each other. When reading this passage through the Feminist Lens, I thought that it made her seem as if she was a woman of easy virtue. She felt delight and pleasure when “he had undressed her further”. The moment of satisfaction had taken over her entirely. She let those feelings get to her. She had not thought twice before she was being undressed by Paul D and what that would lead to.

This entire passage makes me think about how other people might interpret Sethe’s and Paul D’s actions and decisions. Beforehand, I thought that Sethe had not yet gotten over her husband’s death, however this passage showed me otherwise. It also made me think differently about men and what their actions truly meant. When Sethe says that men “encouraged you to put some of your weight in their hands”, it made me think that men just want to make a woman believe that they really care in order to make a woman attached to them. Men know how to get you under their spell when they have ”studied your scars and tribulations”. Men let women pour their feelings and secrets out to them and as a result the women fall for the men. Whenever they have the chance to speak to a woman, they will take that opportunity to get involved in one’s life expecting to get something more in the future. Baby Suggs’ quote, “But maybe a man was nothing but a man” can be seen as a stereotypical interpretation of a man. Typically, our society thinks of men to be muscular and brave. In this passage, we can interpret it as if men only wanted one thing; sex.