Abstract: Beloved is Toni Morrison’s fifth novel which won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and is considered to be her best work. This thesis aims to discuss Sethe’s feminist consciousness. Her feminist consciousness goes through three stages. Firstly, Sethe’s feminist consciousness is awakened. She fights for freedom by escaping the “Sweet Home”. She kills the baby so that the baby won’t be a slave when she grows up. Besides, Sethe finds her identity through establishing self-reliance. Then, she loses the feminist consciousness. Beloved’s ghost comes back to disturb Sethe, and in a sense Sethe becomes a “slave” to Beloved. Beloved’s revenge and Sethe’s guilt of killing her baby makes her lose herself. At last, she regains the feminist consciousness with the help of Denver, Paul D and the black community. Only through walking out of the past and looking forward to the future, can black women gain new life and freedom, and the feminist consciousness is fully awakened.

Key words: Beloved; feminist consciousness; Sethe

CONTENTS

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction1

 1.1 Introduction to Toni Morrison &Beloved

1.2 Feminist Consciousness

2. Sethe’s Feminist Consciousness3

 2.1 Awakening of Feminist Consciousness 

  2.1.1 Escaping “Sweet Home”

   2.1.2 Killing the Infant

2.1.3 Establishing Self-reliance

2.2 Lost of Feminist Consciousness

2.3 Resumption of Feminist Consciousness 

3. Conclusion..7

Bibliography..8

Acknowledgements..9