Modern Day Sisters in the Wilderness: Baby Suggs, Setha, and Denver
The role of the African-American mother in the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison

In her disturbing and poignant novel Beloved Toni Morrison addresses several womanist issues: such as, the liberation of black women and their families, the oppression of black women both in the slavocracy and post-Civil War eras, and the importance of religious community toward the empowerment of black women. Over and above these important issues, Morrison strongly addresses the changing role of the slave mother and her desire to mother, nurture, and protect her children at any cost, as she journeys from bondage to freedom. In her ground breaking novel, Sisters in the Wilderness Delores Williams states that, “like Hagar’s story, African-American women’s story has been closely associated with motherhood.” She goes on to argue that African American women have a long tradition of serving as mothers and nurtures, a role they did not give up during or after their enslavement. Their legacy of mothering and nurturing during the antebellum period went beyond the social boundaries associated with females, in fact, “it was the black mother who often protected the children and family as far as they could be protected during the slavocracy.” The stereotype of the strong black woman began in this period, as female slaves were expected to work in the fields and also see to, “the tasks of protecting, providing for, resisting oppression, and liberating,” of their children and families. This issue of protection and how far a mother can be pushed to offer her children a sense of safety and security is dramatically addressed in the characters of Setha, Baby Suggs, and Denver from Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved. To begin, Setha’s story has many associations with the biblical narrative of Hagar – whose story acts as a symbol of the oppression many African American women have had to suffer through. Like Hagar, Setha is a runaway slave – fleeing from the abuse suffered at the hands of her master’s on the plantation known as Sweet Home. Comparatively, Hagar and Setha are both pregnant during their wilderness experience. Setha, like Hagar, has lost all hope of male help or assistance and can only rely on God for her survival. Setha’s wilderness experience is one of pain, her back has been badly beaten and with each step her bare feet became bloodier and bloodier. Hagar is also experiencing pain in the wilderness, the pain of hunger to the point of death. Setha finds help in an unlikely place – the healing efforts of a poor, young, white girl, on her way to Denver. The girl helps her deliver the baby, tends to her wounds, and bandages her torn feet. Setha is able to complete her wilderness journey to freedom, because of this young woman’s efforts and her uncharacteristic to see past race. This minor character acts as Good Samaritan and extends the hand of Christ to Setha.

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[ 1 ]. Delores S. Williams, Sisters in the Wilderness (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1993), 34.
[ 2 ]. Ibid., 39.
[ 3 ]. Ibid., 39.