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Volume 16
Issue 2
10.3390/rel16020171
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Article

The Duality of Toni Morrison’s Beloved: Postmodern Religious Symbols That Highlight the Inherited Legacy of the American South

by
Charity L. Gibson
College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, MO 65737, USA
Religions 2025, 16(2), 171; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020171
Submission received: 27 December 2024 / Revised: 16 January 2025 / Accepted: 31 January 2025 / Published: 3 February 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Religions and Theologies)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved includes a namesake character representing both Christianity and African cosmology. Beloved is neither straightforwardly good nor evil but serves as a dualistic and spiritual symbol. Though one could interpret Morrison’s narrative to support a postmodern religious multiplicity of voices, the potentially problematic theology still allows the readers to engage in useful discussions about the spiritual and cultural inheritance of the American South. Morrison’s narrative is only compatible with a Christian or African religious lens through recognizing symbolization as a representation of cultural manifestations rather than an endorsement of multiple worldviews.
Keywords: Morrison; African religion; Christianity; postmodernism; Beloved Morrison; African religion; Christianity; postmodernism; Beloved

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MDPI and ACS Style

Gibson, C.L. The Duality of Toni Morrison’s Beloved: Postmodern Religious Symbols That Highlight the Inherited Legacy of the American South. Religions 2025, 16, 171. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020171

AMA Style

Gibson CL. The Duality of Toni Morrison’s Beloved: Postmodern Religious Symbols That Highlight the Inherited Legacy of the American South. Religions. 2025; 16(2):171. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020171

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gibson, Charity L. 2025. "The Duality of Toni Morrison’s Beloved: Postmodern Religious Symbols That Highlight the Inherited Legacy of the American South" Religions 16, no. 2: 171. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020171

APA Style

Gibson, C. L. (2025). The Duality of Toni Morrison’s Beloved: Postmodern Religious Symbols That Highlight the Inherited Legacy of the American South. Religions, 16(2), 171. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020171

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