Parallels between Schoolteacher and Bodwin
Bodwin's visit at the end of Beloved solidified a truth Sethe was trying to prove for the majority of the novel: that she didn't end her child's life out of a place of evil, that she took whatever means possible to save her baby from a horrible institution she fought to escape. Bodwin's visit exhibits many parallels to Schoolteacher's visit to 124 earlier in the novel. The fact that Sethe did the scary thing once again by making grave sacrifices for her loved ones, despite the public outrage, goes to prove her statement that "thin love" truly isn't love at all (Morrison 191). Earlier in the novel, Sethe is ostracized by many Cincinnati residents for the murder of her child. 124 is supposedly haunted -- and it is very much so, although Bodwin's visit helps to resolve the spirit of Beloved in the house -- and Sethe is thought to be insane. No one attempts to understand the reason behind her actions, and no one even cares to try, maybe besides Stamp...