Baby Suggs's Identity

In this particular scene of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, the character of Baby Suggs embraces her newfound freedom by abandoning her given slave name and choosing a name for herself. In this defiant act, Baby Suggs reclaims her identity as a way to assert her independence and challenges the eradication of her self-identity through the institution of slavery. The novel stresses the powerful association between names and one’s authentic identity. Through Baby Suggs’ confusion at the use of her slave name, her decision to keep her husband’s name as a “freed Negro” (Morrison 167) despite Mr. Garner’s advice, and the deep connection she has with her name, the novel emphasizes the power of names in terms of an African-American’s self-awareness and self-discovery

Beloved highlights the power of names and their role in shaping one’s identity. The novel uses Baby Suggs’ confusion at the use of her “bill-of-sale name” (168) to demonstrate the important ties names have to one’s self-perception. Through her term as a slave with Mr. and Mrs. Garner, they both refer to her exclusively as “Jenny Whitlow”. At first, Baby Suggs does not understand the reason behind this, but she feels that she is in no position to question them because of their authority over her. The confusion at the use of an incorrect name leads to an identity crisis, which exemplifies the strong ties between names and identity. When Mr. Garner later questions her about her name, she replies with “I don’t call myself nothing” (167). Since Baby Suggs spent her entire life up to that point in a setting where others controlled her identity, she has no sense of self. However, to her, she understands that she is the only person who should have sole control over her own identity, as she uses the first-person pronoun “I” rather than a third-person one when speaking in regards to what

Garner brings Baby Suggs towards her freedom, she makes the final decision to keep her husband’s name against Mr. Garner’s firm advice. Through this interaction and her choice, the novel emphasizes the close connection between one’s name and one’s sense of self, and the difficulties in achieving that in an oppressive surrounding. When Baby Suggs reveals that her late husband’s name was “Suggs” and that he called her “Baby”, she makes the conscious decision to call herself “Baby Suggs” from this point forward, as she begins her life as a free woman. However, Mr. Garner warns her that “if I was you I’d stick to Jenny Whitlow. Mrs. Baby Suggs ain’t a name for a freed Negro” (167). From his advice, it is clear that Mr. Garner is aware of the close connection between names and identity. Even if Baby Suggs is physically free from slavery, Mr. Garner still tries to control her identity through the use of her name. However, Baby Suggs uses this opportunity to fully assert her independence and freedom, and the act of renaming herself allows her to gain a sense of self-awareness, as she comes to the conclusion that she is now in control of creating an identity for herself outside of an oppressive environment. She is no longer Jenny Whitlow, the slave; rather, her new name and title – Baby Suggs, the free woman – marks her new status. Likewise, her decision to abandon her old name also symbolizes a moment of rebirth. As she finds this sense of self-awareness through