In Toni Morison's' novel, Beloved, the main character Seth, is a former slave who chooses to kill her baby girl rather than allowing her to be exposed to the physically, and emotionally damaging horrors of a life spent in slavery. There is no other way to say it: she murdered her child. By killing her child, so dear to her heart, the question arises whether Seth acted out of true love or selfishness.
             The fact that Seth's act is irrational can easily be decided upon. Does Seth kill her baby girl because she wants to save the baby from slavery or does Seth end her daughter's life because of a selfish refusal to reenter a life of slavery? By examining the complexities of Seth's character it can be said that she is a woman who chooses to love her children but not herself. Seth kills her baby because, in Seth's mind, her children are the only good and pure part of who
             she is and must be protected from the cruelty and the "dirtiness" of slavery~(Morrison 251In this respect, her act is that of love for her children. The selfishness of Seth's act lies in her refusal to accept personal responsibility for her baby's death. Seth's motivation is dichotomous in that she displays her love by mercifully sparing her daughter from a horrific life, yet Seth refuses to
             acknowledge that her show of mercy is also murder.
             Throughout Beloved, Seth's character consistently displays the duopolistic nature of her actions. Not long after Seth's reunion with Paul D. she describes her reaction to School Teacher's arrival: "Oh, no. I wasn't going back there (Sweet Home). I went to jail instead"(Morrison 42). Seth's words suggest that she has made a moral stand by her refusal to allow herself and her children to be dragged back into the evil of slavery. From the beginning, it is clear that Seth believes that her actions were morally justified. The peculiarity of her statement lies in her
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