Who is baby suggs in beloved

She withdraws from the community into an internal world of colors and introspection. Her withdrawal allows Sethe to withdraw as well, leading to a long estrangement with the townspeople. Baby Suggs's influence is vital enough, however, that her presence is felt after her death — not in a haunting way like Beloved's spirit, but in a strengthening way in which her words and attitudes linger in the minds of those who loved her.

Her presence helps comfort Sethe even years after she dies, and it encourages Denver to leave the house and seek help. Previous Denver. Her authority in the pulpit, her dance in the Clearing, her powerful Call she didn't deliver sermons or preach—insisting she was too ignorant for that—she called and the hearing heard —all that had been mocked and rebuked by the bloodspill in her backyard.

God puzzled her and she was too ashamed of him to say so. Sure, Baby Suggs suffers a profound change in faith after Sethe's day at the shed. But there's more to Baby Suggs's depression than just Sethe.

Baby Suggs had some major stuff going on even before she ever got to That Baby Suggs is beyond depressed—after all, what else are you supposed to feel when you're born into slavery and have no clue where all except one your children are? Even though her life at Sweet Home is a "marked improvement" compared to the other places in her past, "a sadness was at her center, the desolated center where the self that was no self made its home" Sound familiar? Yep—that "desolated center" is a lot like the description of the Clearing, only this "desolated center" is inside of Baby Suggs, and it's definitely not a cheery place.

But it's also one of those qualities that allow Baby Suggs to be who she is once she does get to non-judgmental, all-inclusive, all-loving. She has the capacity to open her heart up to anyone since she pretty much has no ego and no family around her until Sethe comes.

Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. By Toni Morrison. Previous Next. Baby Suggs The "Unchurched Preacher" Baby Suggs is that person you go to with all of your deep, scary problems—the kind of problems you can't tell your parents or even your best friend.

Baby Suggs's Maybe it's because Baby Suggs makes her house into a no-gossip zone—a place where people can really unburden themselves and find acceptance—that people also pass through like it's party central: had been a cheerful, buzzing house where Baby Suggs, holy, loved, cautioned, fed, chastised, and soothed.

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Betty Taylor-Thompson. Subjects: Literature. All rights reserved. Sign in to annotate.