One could argue that Baby Suggs' treatment at the hands of her masters in slavery was better than the treatment she received from her community as a free woman. When describing her time as a slave at Sweet Home, she continually repeats that "nobody knocked her down...even when she slipped on cow dung and broke every egg in her apron" (Morrison 164). No matter how badly she messed up, she was always respected and listened to, and never criticized. However, as a free woman, she was constantly knocked down by her community and continually experienced "the scent of disapproval" (Morrison 162-163). Instead of interpreting Baby Suggs' acts of generosity as true benevolence, they took it as "uncalled for pride," "overstepping, giving too much, and offending them by excess" (Morrison 163).
Denver's suckling her sister's blood along with her mother's milk accounts for both her acceptance of the non-material spirit in the house and her acceptance of Beloved as the material re-embodiment of her sister's spirit. When Sethe nursed Denver, she refused to clean herself,despite Baby Suggs' discontent, because she still felt the pain of what she had done and was clinging onto the past. When Denver suckled both her mother's milk and her sister's blood, she became connected to Sethe's painful past. The non-material spirit of Beloved often represents Sethe's guilt, which was represented by the baby's blood. The milk represents the nourishing side of Sethe's motherhood, which is what allows Sethe a second chance when Beloved comes back as a material re-embodiment of her spirit. Denver connects to Beloved in both of these ways because they both have a distrust for Sethe yet are reliant on her for nourishment to live.
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