The Construction of Female Identity in Beloved from the Perspective of Post-Colonialism

Abstract

Beloved is one of the historical trilogy by the African-American writer Toni Morrison. This paper interprets the process of the three black women's self-consciousness awakening and identity construction in Beloved from the perspective of post-colonialism by Homi K. Bhabha. Morrison depicts the painful revealing of the disremembered past of black people in Beloved. Through the depiction of Sethe as well as other ex-slaves, the novel expresses that only by confronting ghosts and rediscovering history can the characters be able to break down their constructed otherness, and embark on the obtaining of a subjective position.