Bilblical Allusions in Beloved

        Yesterday, we had some Beloved poster presentations. The most one that stood out to me was the one dealing with biblical allusions. I noticed them throughout the novel, not to mention the epigraph in the beginning, "I will call them my people, which were not my people, and her beloved, which was not her beloved"(Romans 9:25). Anyway, I really liked the depth of analyzing this group did. It seems like Beloved is a Jesus figure!!! She's a really complicated symbol. When you think about it, Denver drank her blood (kinda weird). In church, Christians drink wine to symbolize the blood of Jesus who died on the cross to save humanity. When Sethe, Paul D and Denver return from the carnival, they saw that a "fully dresses woman walked out of water"(60). Beloved dies once but is reborn that night, when she comes out of the water. Sounds like baptism! This resembles the rebirth of those who are baptized, "born-again" Christians. Grandma Baby Suggs represents John the Baptist because she used to preach in the Clearing, analogous to when he preached in the woods. Sethe represents Mary, the mother of Jesus. She cuts Beloved's throat and sees her die, to save her from the harsh life ahead of her. Mary witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus to save the world from their sins. And four men on horses arrived at 124- "schoolteacher, one nephew, one slave-catcher and a sheriff.... (174)." The four horsemen represent the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse mentioned in the Book of Revelation. One named Death, one Famine, War, and Pestilence.Wow. I can't believe how subtle Morrison is with these symbols. They're not too obvious because she wants you to connect the dots. I never even realized it!!!! Thanks Biblical Allusions group!