FREED FROM SLAVERY, BOUND TO THE PAST: A PALIMPSEST STUDY OF TONI MORRISON’S BELOVED

Abstract

This article examines Toni Morrison's Beloved through Sarah Dillon's theory of the palimpsest to explore the persistence of slavery's traumatic legacy in African American cultural memory. It argues that Morrison constructs the novel as a palimpsestuous narrative in which erased and suppressed histories remain visible beneath the surface of the present. Through its fragmented structure, disrupted chronology, and recurring acts of remembrance, Beloved reveals the simultaneous presence of past and present, illustrating how traumatic experiences continue to shape individual and collective identities. The analysis focuses on Sethe's memories, the phenomenon of hunting, and the spectral figure of Beloved as manifestations of historical traces that resist forgetting. By foregrounding the interplay of erasure and retention, Morrison challenges official historical narratives and recuperates voices silenced by slavery. The study concludes that Beloved functions as a literary palimpsest where memory, trauma, and history remain inseparable, affirming Morrison's commitment to preserving marginalized histories through narrative remembrance.