Loving and Terrible Mother: An Archetypal Redefinition of African Motherhood in Beloved

Abstract

The memories of past experiences have an unconscious influence on the present. In her novel Beloved, Toni Morrison vividly portrays the atrocities of slavery, shedding light on the enduring psychic wounds inflicted upon subjugated Black women and their motherhood. This study explores the embedded memories, trauma, and dehumanization that control and distort the ability of Black individuals to respond to the human experiences of maternal bonds. While existing literature has extensively explored motherhood, a gap remains in understanding the archetypal development within the fragmented psyche of tormented mothers. Drawing from Carl Jung and Eric Neumann’s collective unconscious and mother archetype concept, this interdisciplinary research aims to identify and examine the dual nature of motherhood – the loving and the terrible. By analyzing the reasons behind this duality, we seek to redefine motherhood, considering the exhibition of two contradictory natures among oppressed mothers.