The reader sees the importance of names slaves displayed in two scenes namely when Jenny Whitlow adopts the name Baby Suggs and when Beloved approaches Paul D.
Baby Suggs’ Changes Her Name
Prior to gaining her freedom, Jenny Whitlow—later Baby Suggs—experiences a lack of both identity and name. A name powerfully symbolizes character and importance, yet Jenny is not sure what her name is until her son earns her freedom.
A name also connotes attributes, characteristics, etc., connected with the individual. While in slavery, Jenny Whitlow answers to “anything” (167). That is, she not only does not know her name, but perceives herself as having no name. And the official title she does have—Jenny Whitlow—is a simple extension of her former master’s identity and name. Prior to being free, she has an ambiguous name for an ambiguous identity that is defined by others.
Sadder still than Jenny’s lack of a significant or personalized name is the inherent futility of naming a slave. Because a name symbolizes identity, slaves have no need for names. That is, they are seen as property without identity; therefore, significant, meaningful names would not only serve to complicate matters for white slave owners, but would perhaps encourage slaves to attach significance to their own lives.
When Garner asks Baby Suggs, “Ain’t that your name? What you call yourself?” Baby Suggs replies, “Nothing…I don’t call myself nothing” (167). She has no name for herself, no concept of individual identity within the population of slaves as a whole.
When she adopts the name Baby Suggs, however, she realizes both her connection to her husband and also her own strength. For, eventually, Baby Suggs—not Jenny Whitlow— becomes a respected and admired pillar in her town in Ohio. The adoption of a meaningful name allows Baby Suggs the freedom not only to love, but to operate as a strong individual within the African-American community.
Beloved Approaches Paul D.
Another powerful passage in which Morrison addresses the significance of names is when Beloved approaches Paul D. Beloved’s request that Paul D “touch me on the inside part” is not solely sexual, she is asking for an affirmation of her individual identity, her humanity, and her importance apart from slavery. She tells Paul D, “And you have to call me my name” (137). She reiterates with a plea, “Call me my name…Please call it. I’ll go if you call it” (137).
Ultimately, Beloved is representing all the slaves who lack significant names—Paul A, Paul D, Paul F, Halle, Sixo, etc. — and she asks the question each is asking. Beloved’s appeal confronts the reader not only with the power of an individual person's name, but also the pain of being denied a title. To deny one a name is to dehumanize him or her; Beloved experiences significant awakening once her identity is acknowledged.
The power of a name is emphasized when Paul D complies, saying Beloved’s name, and yet Beloved does not leave. Instead she “moved closer,” for the significance of hearing her own name is too powerful, too humanizing, and Beloved does not want to leave the place where her identity is affirmed (137).
One overarching theme in Toni Morrison’s Beloved concerns the significance of names among slaves. This theme develops in two primary passages; and after reading such passages, and seeing the struggles of both Baby Suggs and Beloved, the reader appreciates the significance of names in Morrison’s Beloved.
Vintage International, 1987, 1-400-3341-1
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