Trauma & Stress - Critical Lens by Gennesis Ayala

           Figurations of Rape and the Supernatural in Beloved is an article written by Pamela E. Barnett. In the article. Barnett writes about how she believes that Beloved is filled with rape and a ghostly presence. Barnett also believes that house 124 is haunted by memories, not a ghost. Barnett brings up the reason why she believes some of the characters in Beloved are traumatized. The reason she brings up is rape. She believes that rape “robs victims of vitality, both physical and psychological.” She believes that Sethe is the most traumatized character because she has the most disturbing past memories about sexual assault. The author also tells us that rape is something that anybody is capable of doing, not just a man but also a woman. We are all on the same level of being raped or committing rape.

           I agree with Barnett in her article about the reason why she thinks the characters, especially Sethe are traumatized. Sethe was sexually assaulted many times in the past and her memories are constantly being triggered by the smallest things. Because she is a woman and a mother, I believe that Sethe went through a lot more than other characters in the book as well. Being a woman and a salve, Sethe was not able to speak up for herself and defend herself. When sexual assault came her way, she had no choice but to let it happen. Being a woman and a slave during that difficult era is what I also believe believe put Sethe into so much trauma and stress. When she became a mother, Sethe wanted the best for her children and put them before herself. She didn’t want her children to experience what she did and even took the life of one of her daughters proving to the reader that she believes that death is better than being a slave and woman in that era. Due to so much sexual assault in her life Sethe became a person with a lot of trauma which caused her to make many actions that other people wouldn’t do. Although the writer brings up that anyone is capable of rape, I believe that is true, but I also believe that men are especially capable of raping woman, especially during the slave era.