This paper mainly consists of two parts。 One is focusing on Seth’s trauma from the family and the society。 The other is the healing of her trauma。 For one thing, Seth’s familial trauma comes from the departure of Paul D, the memories of her mother and the deprivation of maternal love。 Seth’s social trauma comes from the slavery system, the oppression of patriarchal society and the infanticide event。 For the other, Seth’s trauma gets healed because of Seth’s self-salvation, Paul D’s love and the black community’s assistance。 

2。 Literature Review

In the west, the criticisms on Toni Morrison’s works began from the late 1970s。 In 1977, the first comment on Toni Morrison’s work was published in First world。 After Morrison won the Nobel Prize for literature, comments on her works became deeper and wider。 In the 1990s, critics usually adopted the race and gender perspective。 Later, the essayist made a comparison between Toni Morrison and other black writers。 In the 20th century, psychoanalytic approaches were often used to analyze the works of Toni Morrison。 In china, the studies on Toni Morrison’s works started from around 1993 when she won the Nobel Prize as the first black woman writer in America。 Therefore, many scholars have been studying Toni Morrison’s works and they usually adopt the perspectives of trauma, maternal love, the slavery system, etc… Different scholars have different opinions。

Elizabeth B。 House says that, “Throughout Beloved, Morrison’s theme is that remembering yesterdays, while not being consumed by them, gives people the tomorrows with which to make real lives” (17)。 The process of “memories loss” and “memories rebirth” is the important point to change Seth’s life。 Because of it, Seth gains rebirth and harvests love。 Kimberly Chabot Davis states that, “Thematically, the emphasis of Beloved shifts from external factors that create fragmentation toward internal healing process that allows for psychic integration and the novel chronicles this healing process, which, the character learned, must be based on love。 ”(Page 45) Trudier Harris says that, “In beloved, Toni Morrison makes clear where ownership leaves off and possession begins in the psychologically warping system called slavery。”(Harris & Knoxville 23)。 Many black died of the slavery system。 Very few reviewers make an analysis from the two aspects of familial and social trauma simultaneously。文献综述

This paper tries to conduct an analysis of Beloved from perspectives of Seth’s familial and social trauma。 Firstly, Seth’s familial trauma is represented from three aspects: the departure of Paul D, Seth’s memories of her mother and the deprivation of maternal love。 Secondly, Seth’s social trauma is analyzed from three respects: the slavery system, the oppression of the patriarchal society and infanticide。 Beloved promotes readers’ understanding of Seth’s familial and social trauma。 Beloved could help readers comprehend more about the black women。