As a former slave, Sethe never received the opportunity to truly possess anything, a fact that continually emerges to define her personhood and, eventually, her motherhood. To Sethe, her lack of ownership, a concept that slavery, as an institution, made impossible for the enslaved, first becomes apparent when she marries Halle. When Sethe goes to her former owner, Mrs. Garner, about the wedding, the woman merely brushes it off, explaining how that, as a slave, Sethe will not receive the ceremony she always imagined. Sethe, in that moment, realizes how unofficial and, therefore, how artificial, the meaning of marriage becomes for a slave. In Chapter Two of the novel, Sethe describes Halle’s love for her by saying, “Halle was more like a brother than a husband. His care suggested a family relationship rather than a man’s laying claim” (31). As a slave, Halle had no true stake in Sethe, …show more content…
She often thinks back to an instance where schoolteacher’s nephews held her down and stole the milk- the milk reserved for her children- straight from her body. She looks upon the past and believes her own husband, her own body, and even her own memories do not belong to her. Consequently, Sethe cannot concede to Paul D’s subsequent disapproval of her “rough choice.” He tells her that her decision was ultimately unsuccessful and expresses his belief that there may exist somethings worse than slavery in the world (194). Sethe responds to Paul D’s condemnation by saying, “It ain’t my job to know what’s worse, it’s my job to know what is” (194). Paul D, like Sethe, endured life at the Sweet Home plantation and, thus, can appreciate the “what is” from which Sethe desperately wishes to shield her children. However, his lack of paternity, which entails a facet of propriety, restricts his comprehension and resultant empathy towards Sethe’s