Be loved from the other side: Amy Denver's influence in Toni Morrison's Beloved

<p>"Amy Denver, the white indentured servant who helped deliver Sethe's youngest child in Toni Morrison's Beloved, while often dismissed by the scholars of this Pulitzer Prize winning novel, deserves more attention. Dismissing the importance of Amy Denver's narrative in the novel presents a danger; the opening epigraph of Beloved, in fact, defines the importance of Amy's role implicitly. It reads: "I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved." Amy Denver, a young white girl who is also fleeing a form of slavery -- in her case indentured servitude -- comes from a similar background as Sethe; and yet, because she is white not black she is not of Sethe's people. Further, the name Amy, which is taken from the French verb aimer (to love), means "beloved," and also connects Amy to the opening epigraph -- she is literally named as the "beloved" who is not Beloved. These parallels between Amy's character and the opening epigraph of Beloved point to the critical role she plays within the novel. The significance of Amy's character, and the influence Morrison gives her through her role as the "other" beloved, becomes clear through a close examination of her appearances within the novel"--Leaf iii.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA) in English: Literature

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis: EWU Only

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year

2016

Author dc:creator

• Godwin, Aubra D.

• Criticism
• interpretation
• etc.
• Morrison
• Toni.--Beloved
• Toni--Criticism and interpretation
• Toni--Characters
• Toni
• Characters and characteristics
• American Literature
• Modern Literature

Statement dc:rights

• Access perpetually restricted to EWU users with an active EWU NetID

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/355

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dc.ewu.edu:theses-1355