“Beloved.” He said it, but she did not go. She moved closer with a footfall he didn’t hear and he didn’t hear the whisper and the flakes of rust made either as they fell away from the seams of his tobacco tin. So when the lid gave he didn’t know it. What he knew was that when he reached the inside part he was saying, “Red heart. Red heart,” over and over again. Softly and then so loud it woke Denver, then Paul D himself. “Red heart. Red Heart. Red Heart.” (138)
In this passage, Beloved is forcing Paul D to have sex with her. This is known as rape. During his years of slavery, Paul D was raped or sexually assaulted by the whites a number of times. Beloved is a person in the book that brings back the past to every character especially the bad memories. While Paul D is having sex with Beloved, he is reminded of the rapings he had to face years ago and he is frozen by it. Beloved brings back this bad memory to him and he is frightened by it. The memory of his rapings cause him to go unconscious and he repeats the phrase “Red Heart.” The bad memories of being mistreated are brought back when Beloved rapes him because he experiences the memory again. Experiencing rape again causes all him to go into shock because it refreshes his memory and the pain from the past returns.
Like Sethe and many of the other former slaves, Paul D tries to forget the past. He tries to forget his past of being a slave because it reminds him of when he was abused and mistreated. He tries to bury his memories of slavery and completely forget about them because when he starts to think of these memories, he starts to feel pain. He doesn't want to feel pain anymore because he is free and wants to be happy. Without these memories, he is happy and is pain-free and that is why he tries to erase the memories.
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