Abstract

     Toni Morrison, the 1993 Nobel Prize Winner of Literature, is the first African-American female Nobel Prize laureate in literature. Beloved is one of the most distinguished works of Toni Morrison. Since the novel came out, many experts and scholars has analyzed it, some from feminism, some from black pain or black culture, which has been constantly enriching the thoughts in Beloved and making it      more and more complete. From the perspective of maternal love, this paper tries to analyze the maternal love of the protagonist and its form of presentation in three different situations. From the view of nature, the maternal love is natural. Under the slavery, the maternal love is distorted. In the process of daughter’s asking for maternal love, the maternal love is compensatory.

     Under the oppressive institution of slavery in which the maternal love of black mothers is repressive. This kind of love isn’t given in a normal way but in a form of distorted way finally. In a healthy social institution, mothers should have right to express their maternal love in a normal way to their children.

Key words: Beloved Toni Morrison Maternal Love Slavery

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Introduction-1

Chapter One The Maternal Love by Nature-2

1.1 Definition of Maternal Love-3

1.2 Maternal Love Unbounded by Slavery before Schoolteacher Came to the Sweet Home-3

Chapter Two Maternal Love under Slavery-5

2.1 Infanticide by Sethe-5

2.1.1 Indifference from the Black Community-5

2.1.2 Resistance against Slavery-6

2.1.3 Sethe’s Infanticide-9

2.2 Abandonment by Sethe’s Ma’ma-10

Chapter Three Maternal Love for Compensation-11

3.1 The Excessive Love between Mother and Daughters-11

3.2 Sethe’s Rescue-13

Conclusion-15

Notes-17

Bibliography-18

Acknowledgements-19