In Reflection...

Below is my soundlist dedicated to Toni Morrison's character, Sethe from Beloved. I did not start thinking about this compilation of sounds for her from start to finish of this novel at first, instead I had a very specific song that I have always thought fits her struggling character, Benjamin Britten’s Niobe. From there, I looked for other sounds that capture her life, her situation, and her view point. Having such a rich character to work with made this project fairly easy for me, though finding the perfect sounds from an idea that I had for them was difficult. Linked after the list is my first draft of this project, which I changed mainly in terms of specificity and clarity. I believe my selection  does a good job of showing how Sethe changes in the novel, growing as a person who has been hurt and faced extreme amounts of injustice. Her relationships with her surrounding and people are vital in this growth, especially when she must face the losses that she has suffered.

Sethe, from Toni Morrison's Beloved is a complex and struggling character, forced to live with her past and the weight that it brings into her present.

"How loose the silk. How fine and loose and free."

A Life Before

The quaint sounds of roosters calling and the occasional cow mooing reflect the largely rural setting of the novel. All of her life, Sethe has lived in the country, but with varying levels of freedom. When the sadistic School Teacher took over the plantation where she was a slave, sweet home, Sethe experiences tremendous humiliation. After overhearing his lesson to his nephews that compared Sethe to the animals of the farm, she determines that she must escape. This comparison is scaring and traumatic for her and sets off the chain of events of the novel—  a place that she once found tolerable now denies her of her humanity. Even after Sethe escapes and settles into her own home, 124, she grapples with ideas of identity and self worth, something that slavery stripped her of. These typical farm noises are inescapable in any rural setting, including 124, and though they may seem innocent to most, for Sethe they may be associated with extremely dark times in her life.

This song, a taken from Benjamin Britten’s collection “Six Metamorphoses After Ovid” is entitled Niobe-- a character in greek mythology whose boasting of her many children (seven daughters and seven sons) angers the gods, leading Artemis and Apollo kill them all. She became an image of eternal grief after the death of her family, turning to stone because she mourned for so long. 

    The solo oboe that portrays her story in this piece highlights the isolation and grief that niobe feels, beginning with a quivering opening line that is full of drawn-out sadness. The piece is full of pauses and rests that force reflection from the listener, where drawn out notes that resist any time or key signature evoke strong emotions. Briefly it shifts to a brighter mood, in a slightly more major key and with a faster more rhythmic pace. This is first seen briefly at 4:14, where the original motif turns bright and lightweight until 4:30(see Youtube version). 4:52 is the most decisive break from the original sorrowful tune, not resembling the first section and reaching new highs. This section could be considered her looking back on happy memories of her with her family. Inevitably, the piece returns to the solemn opening section(5:15). It repeats but after a few variations, at 5:38 changes into something played with less expression— there is very little variation in volume or color. Instead, the tune slows and fades out, as Niobe turns to stone from her grief, continuing to weep as waterfall.

     Like Niobe, Sethe is also a mother struggling with the death of a child. She is tied to the home where she killed her baby out of desperation and panic, and this fact stays with her everyday. Initially, the home is haunted by the baby’s ghost, which sometimes violently shakes with rage or sadness. The terrible truth of the child’s death and subsequent haunting has physically and socially isolated Sethe and her living daughter, Denver, from almost everyone in the community. 124 is full of lament, but Sethe is determined to stay, convinced she must for the child. Despite Sethe’s solitary lifestyle at the beginning of the novel, the many flashbacks throughout feature happy moments, even during her life as a slave. On the farm where Sethe was owned as a slave, she married and had children with her husband, Halle. This time of togetherness, though brief, was looked back on positively by Sethe, who was able to spend time with her children and be an incredibly nurturing mother. When the reader is first introduced to her, Sethe is essentially stuck in her position, immobilized by grief, fear, and reflection, much like the singular oboe reflects Niobe is in this work.

The Arrival of Beloved

The calm and repetitive sounds that this brook makes are extremely distinct, yet without the video, it is difficult to determine the size of the body of water that is making them. The sounds of the water are familiar to all, and because there is a stream behind 124, they would be a constant in Sethe’s life. Water can be seen in many major events in Sethe’s life; brooks, streams, and rivers act as a strong liminal space, particularly between slavery and freedom— Sethe had to cross a river secretly to reach freedom with the help from Stamp Paid. The river is also where Beloved comes from, fully clothed and drenched. The imagery of her soaking wet indicates her arrival into Sethe’s life, and also is one of many images that may lead Sethe to believe she is her dead child returned. These splashes and gurgles would add to the soundscape around Sethe, perhaps reminding her of the many important events that have happened, or perhaps simply fading into the rest of the sounds around her. 

    Take my limbs, I want to lose them. Take my arms, I’ll never use them. This song by Billie Holiday reflects Sethe’s absolute devotion—  if not obsession— with Beloved, who eventually consumes her life. Sethe is completely isolated from the outside, no longer working, and is weakened physically because she gives all of her food and time to the demanding Beloved. Holiday’s voice, though jazzy and extremely natural, lacks energy and the almost dyspeptic tone she takes creates a feeling of desperation and exhaustion, even in a love song. Holiday sings about not being able to bear losing her lover a second time, and willingness to give anything, singing your goodbye left me with eyes that cried. This full dedication and reliance is seen with the almost parasitic relationship between Sethe and Beloved, however Sethe is blinded and cannot see her own weakening state, only caring about Beloved. The death of Sethe’s daughter is completely traumatic, so when she believes that Beloved is her baby, the thought of losing her again is unbearable, her thoughts would be similar to Holliday’s: how can I go on dear without you? The sense of guilt that Beloved fosters in Sethe is immense and leads to absolute care of the young woman at any cost. Both Sethe’s physical state and self image is weakened from her role as caretaker, she is quite willing to give everything to the extremely healthy Beloved. Take all of me I’m no good without you.

A Freer Self 

This piece is a take on Bach’s Goldberg variations. It has been incredibly distorted and slowed down, emphasizing the breaks in tonality that the piece occasionally takes and making it seem more ambiguous in terms of mood. The quavering piano, that echoes in a haunting manner, struggles to move on, dragging even the most  rapid runs of the piece (0:42 to 1:02 is originally a dipping embellished run that now takes far longer and seems more indecisive). The pace makes parts of the song far more poignant, 1:15 brings on a more hopeful tone, slowly rising to more major and uplifting lines, though ultimately ending again on a lower more grim note (2:13). It is an incredibly beautiful song but, because of the slow and trembling nature, also sounds incredibly sad. After Beloved disappears from Sethe’s life, many challenges arise. Though she is now no longer bound to the manipulative young woman, Sethe is unsure about her place in the world and what she has done wrong. Her grief returns and she becomes quiet and introspective. Although the community banded together to come to Sethe’s aid, she continues to isolate herself. The solo piano reflects this, and though there are strings that support it throughout, they are not the focus and the piano acts independently of them. The intense and mixed emotions sitting within Sethe in many ways are reflected in this unique piece. 

    Odetta’s powerful voice and  decisive words in this song reflect a stronger mindset that Sethe adapts after the departure of Beloved. She is able to think clearly now, and with the support of Paul D regains her health and willingness to be active in the outside world. The simplicity of this song, with the soft, repetitive  guitar as support to the deep and emotional voice, is in many ways comforting. Seth’s recovery and life after Beloved is a new and independent one. She will no longer be looking back on life, no longer be haunted, and though deeply sorrowful, perhaps not regretful of the death of her child. The lines "No more moaning” and “No more crying” show that there will not be pain in the future, but for this to happen, Sethe must do it on her own. An important line in the book reads "Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” The mental binds of slavery for Sethe remained long after she crossed the river running away, and though the injustices she faced will never go away, it is important for her to continue to look forward, reclaiming herself and her independence. 

                                 http://teachmix.com/boostlit/node/3692/revisions/5191/view