A Study of the Significance of Communion in Toni Morrison’s Novel Beloved

Abstract

The term ‘communion’ means sharing of thoughts and feelings. The Cambridge English   Dictionary defines communion as a close relationship with someone in which feelings and thoughts are exchanged. Communion is a recognizable theme in Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved. Beloved is set in the era of Reconstruction and explores the psychological state of African Americans and their struggles to rebuild themselves after the trauma of slavery. In Beloved, Toni Morrison shows communion as a remedy to recover from one’s past traumatic life. Most of the characters in Beloved are slaves or ex-slaves struggling to reconcile with their past. This paper aims to study how communion helps the characters to remember and share their past and how their close relationship with mutual understanding makes recovery possible. This paper also presents characters who encourage communion and discourage it. Through her novel Beloved, Morrison conveys the message that communion leads to a better life.