Beloved: Part 1, Chapter 13 Summary & Analysis

Paul D thinks about his time at Sweet Home. Mr. Garner let his slaves correct him, handle guns, choose a wife, learn to read, and was otherwise relatively lenient toward them. When Schoolteacher came and took control of the farm, though, things were radically different and much harsher. Paul D’s recent behavior—not being able to stay put in 124 and sleeping with Beloved—makes him question whether Schoolteacher was right about him being less than a man.

Paul D resolves to tell Sethe about what’s been happening and goes to meet her at the restaurant where she works. He finds her and prepares to tell her but changes his mind at the last second and tells her that he wants to have a child with her. Sethe thinks the idea is ridiculous.

Sethe and Paul D walk back to 124. It begins to snow and they start to run, Paul D hoisting Sethe on his back. They encounter Beloved waiting for Sethe near 124, who breaks up the intimacy between Sethe and Paul D.

One night, Sethe finally says something about Paul D sleeping in the cold house and tells him to come upstairs at night, upsetting Beloved. Sethe’s kindness reminds Paul D of the woman he stayed with in Delaware, who gave him a bed with clean sheets and fed him. He was unspeakably grateful to her. Sethe thinks about Paul wanting to have a child and resolves that she cannot handle being a mother to another child.