Denver is an underrated character in Beloved by Toni Morrison. Throughout the book Beloved gained my attention, her arrival was a distraction for both Sethe and the reader. In the book Beloveds reappearance triggered Sethe’s memory of her traumatic past, making her the center of attention. The trauma caused her to lose herself completely, literally being drained by her ghost daughter. Denver was often overlooked because of this but I think her character made her the most memorable.

At the beginning of the story Denver was very quiet, when she spoke she asked questions and she spent a lot of time observing her mother. Although Sethe isolated Denver a little bit, it was likely out of love and fear because of what she had been through. Although Sethe was present their relationship lacked communication. Denver felt like she couldn’t truly connect with her mother so she just observed, and when someone Sethe was more familiar with appeared her attention was completely shifted. As the story progressed she literally watched all her mothers attention and affection shift. She watched her mother chose others over her multiple times but I think because she was such an observer she knew the patterns of her mothers and she understood that the pain was apart of her identity at such a young age. When Beloved returned Denver may have been happy at first because of the thought of finally having someone to connect with, but when she realized the damage she was doing to Sethe all she could do was observe.

I love Denver simply because she was able to cope with the fact that everyone heals their own ways and she didn’t let it restrict her in the end. From being isolated your whole life to suddenly having no one and taking accountability into your own hands takes courage and she was brave enough to do just that. To me she represents the possibility of healing and hope.