Toni Morrison's, Beloved, is a complex narrative about the love between mothers
             and daughters, and the agony of guilt.It is the ultimate gesture of a loving mother. It is
             the outrageous claim of a slave.? These are the words, of Toni Morrison, used to describe
             the actions of Sethe, the central character in the novel. She, a former slave, chooses to kill
             her baby girl rather then let her live a life in slavery. In preventing her from the physical
             and emotional horrors of slavery, Sethe has put herself in to a realm of physical and
             emotional pain: guilt. And in understanding her guilt we can start to conceive her
             motivations for killing her third nameless child. Did Beloved's death come out of love or
             selfish pride? In preventing her child from going into slavery, Sethe, too, protected herself,
             she prevented herself from re-entering captivity. In examining Sethe's character we can
             see that her motivations derive from her deep love towards her children, and from the lack
             of love for herself. Sethe's children are her only good quality. Her children are a part of
             her and in killing one she kills a part of herself. What hinders over Sethe is her refusal to
             accept responsibility for her baby's death. Does she do this because she is selfishness or
             because it need not be justified? Sethe's love is clearly displayed by sparing her daughter
             from a horrific life, yet, Sethe refuses to acknowledge that her show of compassion is also
             Throughout the work, seems to have two separate identities, which affect her
             actions. When reunited with Paul D., Sethe recalls her reactions to School Teacher's
             arrival with no mention to her daughter's death. "Oh, no. I wasn't going back there
             [Sweet Home]. I went to jail instead?(42) Sethe believes she made a moral stand in not
             letting herself be taken into custody. In her statement she has done two things, she has
             disa...