At the age of thirteen, Sethe was sold to Mr. Garner and his wife, Lillian, who ran a plantation in Kentucky. Sethe married a slave named Halle, even though all the other male slaves probably wanted her for his own. After reading this tragic slave story, being a slave was the least of Sethe's worries. Her sanity is destroyed as the days go by on the "Sweet Home- plantation.
"Pregnant every year including the year she sat by the fire telling him she was going to run- (9). Sethe managed to accumulate child after child while staying with the Garner's "four children in all "Howard, Buglar, Beloved and Denver. Her life was a struggle "a struggle for her children. She did what she had to do in life so her children would not suffer when she was gone. After being held down by the schoolteacher's nephews, she was determined to escape. She gave birth to Denver during the escape. She enjoyed twenty-eight glorious days of freedom before the slave catchers tracked her down. Sethe breaks down and tries to kill her children rather than allow them to be returned to slavery. Beloved was the only child who died. .
What kind of mother would kill her children is a question the reader asks themselves at this point. One has to put themselves in Sethe's position to answer the question. Would you kill your children? This is certainly a tough novel to swallow. Sethe was shunned by her children, her owners, and even Paul D. when he leaves her after finding she killed Beloved. .
A young black woman, calling herself Beloved, comes in to Sethe's life and she takes her in. Sethe later comes to believe that Beloved was her own murdered child and gradually becomes obsessed with her, neglecting Denver as though she wants to make up for the murder. Sethe is soon consumed entirely by Beloved. Sethe lets her do this because she feels that she owes it to her. One may feel that they would make it up to their daughter if they had another chance after killing them.