Morrison, Toni: 1931 - 2019

Beloved, 1987 - Thematic Parallels: Motherhood

Morrison, Toni: Beloved, 1987
This is a historical novel that explores the legacy of slavery, memory, motherhood, and identity in post–Civil War America.
The following books are thematically similar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Chopin, Kate: The Awakening, 1899, ~200pp
  This novel examines motherhood and how the role of mother and wife can constrain a woman's identity.
  - Both novels, though different in historical context (white bourgeois womanhood vs. Black enslaved motherhood), expose how women navigate identity, freedom, motherhood, and taboo within oppressive systems. Each uses bold literary innovation to push boundaries of how women’s lives can be represented.
- Henríquez, Cristina: The Book of Unknown Americans, 2014, ~280pp
  Topics of family, sacrifice, and the challenges of mothers in immigrant communities are at the core of this novel.
  - Despite differences in historical setting—post-slavery America (Morrison) vs. contemporary immigrant life (Henríquez)—both novels explore how marginalization, displacement, and trauma affect individuals and communities. They emphasize memory, identity, and the need for supportive networks, using complex narrative structures to convey the emotional realities of their characters.
- Ng, Celeste: Everything I Never Told You, 2014, ~290pp
  This novel analyzes the fallout from parental expectations, intergenerational trauma, and the pressure of familial love.
  - Despite differences in time, setting, and style, both novels share a focus on family, trauma, secrets, racial identity, and the consequences of unspoken emotional weight. Both novels use tragedy to explore how the past—whether personal, familial, or historical—shapes the present. They examine how unspoken or unresolved trauma within a family affects individual members and relationships.
- Strout, Elizabeth: Amy and Isabelle, 1998, ~300pp
  This novel explores complicated mother-daughter relationships.
  - Both novels examine how mothers and daughters navigate emotional distance, guilt, and desire for connection, showing how family dynamics shape identity. In both novels, the physical environment symbolizes the characters’ internal struggles.
List of general discussion questions on Motherhood (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Motherhood (pdf)