Beloved

This question on the limits of love is put tot he test in the story of Beloved by Toni Morrison. Sethe is a mother who only wants to keep her children safe. In an effort to protect them from the horrors of slavery Sethe slits the throat of her baby daughter. "So Denver took her mother's milk right along with the blood of her sister." Out of love she murders her own child. Some may question if this is actually an act of love or cold blooded murder. Sethe loved her daughter so much that she killed her in order to protect her form a monstrous life in chains. Placing all on the line for love, Sethe stepped over all the boundaries. Many die for love but few kill their love. Later in the story Sethe's daughter, Beloved, comes back in the form of a grown woman. She wants Sethe, she wants her mothers face. Beloved's form of love towards her mother morphs into viscous desire. "She is the one. She is the one I need. You can go but she is the one I have to have." This desire sprouts in to a disturbing mother daughter relationship. Sethe withers away attempting to please Beloved. In this case, love was not your typical sappy romantic comedy ending. Love murdered and destroyed. It came in like a tornado devastating everything in its path.