All Or Nothing Love
Love is or it ain't. Thin love ain't love at all.
Sethe speaks these words to Paul D, defending the terrible choice she made to protect her children from slavery's return. She has just told him what she did, and she will not soften it or apologize for the fierceness behind it. Morrison wrote Beloved in 1987, drawing on the true story of Margaret Garner, to show how love under slavery could not afford to be careful or partial. The line still asks us to check whether we are loving people fully or just loving them safely.
Reflection
Sethe insisted love has no middle ground. Where can I give someone my full attention today?