Hummingbirds are a recurring symbol in Toni Morrison’s 1987 novel Beloved. Though the birds make only brief appearances, they hold profound meaning connected to themes of freedom, healing, and resurrection.
The hummingbird first appears in the novel’s opening pages. After Baby Suggs dies, Sethe observes a hummingbird hovering near the red bloom of a rose bush. She reflects that “hummingbirds stick needles into her head” (Morrison, 3). From this early introduction, the tiny birds are associated with emotional pain and trauma.
Freedom
The hummingbird later reappears as a more positive symbol of freedom. When Paul D arrives at 124 Bluestone Road, his presence makes Sethe happy for the first time since Baby Suggs’ passing. Sethe feels that Paul D “beat back the past” and perceives hummingbirds gathering around a flowering currant bush in response to this change (Morrison, 45).
In this moment, Morrison uses the hummingbird to signal a shift from grief and trauma to the possibility of healing. As Sethe explains, hummingbirds only come around “when there’s something sweet around” (Morrison, 45). Their arrival reflects the sweetness of finding companionship in Paul D and starting to overcome her painful memories.
The link between hummingbirds and freedom becomes more explicit through the character of Beloved. After appearing as a mysterious young woman, Beloved is revealed to be the reincarnated spirit of Sethe’s deceased daughter. Beloved was killed by Sethe as a child to prevent her from being returned to slavery.
When telling her story, Beloved shares a memory of being surrounded by “little hummingbirds sticking needle beaks right through her headcloth into her hair and beating their wings” (Morrison, 210). In violently attacking Beloved, the birds attempt to free her from slavery’s pursuit. Their needles pierce her cloth, undoing the physical bindings that restrain her.
Attempted Resurrection
Beloved’s resurrection represents another form of freedom from her traumatic death. The hummingbirds pecking at her head suggest an early, failed attempt at bringing her back to life. Though the birds cannot fully revive her, their needles plant the possibility of her eventual return.
Beloved goes on to recall tasting nectar as the hummingbirds tried to reach her: “She is tasting it again and getting dizzy” (Morrison, 210). The nourishing nectar momentarily reawakens her senses, foreshadowing her full resurrection later in the novel. Even when the hummingbirds fail to immediately free Beloved, they plant the seed that will allow her to reclaim life and freedom from her tragic fate.
Healing
In addition to freedom, the hummingbird serves as a harbinger of healing from emotional wounds. When Beloved mysteriously arrives at 124 Bluestone Road, her presence begins to heal the relationships damaged by past trauma. She becomes a catalyst for Sethe, Paul D, and Denver to process their painful memories.
The link between Beloved and hummingbirds implies she carries the same restorative power as the birds. After tasting the nectar the hummingbirds fed her, Beloved “is laughing because now she knows she is dead” (Morrison, 210). Beloved lets go of the rage keeping her spirit tied to earth and begins to find peace through this laughter.
The joy Beloved draws from the hummingbirds assigns them redemptive qualities. Their sweet nectar nourishes the possibility of accepting loss and trauma, allowing healing laughter to emerge from the depths of suffering. Beloved’s resurrection depended on the hummingbirds first planting this seed of peace and redemption.
Redemption Through Relationship
As Sethe and Paul D reconcile at the end of the novel, Morrison describes “the righteous wrath of the sparrows and the thrashing wrath of the hummingbirds” (Morrison, 308). This surge of birds arrives as the broken community around 124 Bluestone Road begins to heal.
Again, the hummingbirds usher in the possibility of redemption and rebirth. Their righteous fury gives way to communal harmony, with Paul D and Sethe finding connection through their shared trauma. Out of anger comes the capacity for understanding, just as Beloved found laughter through the hummingbirds after death’s initial agony.
Resurrection
Morrison ultimately aligns the hummingbird with themes of resurrection, return, and rememory. After being beaten down by slavery and haunted by the ghost of Beloved, Sethe begins to revive her sense of self-worth with support from Paul D, Denver, and her community. She discovers the possibility of reconciling with the past.
The novel comes full circle by ending with the image of a hummingbird’s needle breaking the skin of a chokecherry tree. This needle prick draws a drop of red that “looked like a ruby ear ring” (Morrison, 321), recalling the red rose bloom where Sethe first saw a hummingbird at the start of the story.
The return to hummingbirds signals Sethe’s return to life, overcoming her trauma to choose a future of hope and freedom. As when they attempted to revive young Beloved, the birds now succeed in their redemptive mission. Their needle motion echoes the beats of their wings, which Morrison earlier described as “fans” that might “cool her” and “blow away the grief” (Morrison, 210).
Reconciliation Through Remembering
Rather than blows of violence, these wing beats fan Sethe with air of potential healing. By drawing blood that resembles an earring – an adornment marking Sethe’s humanity and womanhood – the hummingbird enables her to make peace with the past. The circle comes full turn, redeeming memories of loss with the promise of rebirth.
Like Beloved tasting the hummingbirds’ sweet nectar before her resurrection, Sethe drinks in sustenance from reconciling with her repressed trauma. This nourishment allows bitter memories to bloom into understanding that frees Sethe to fully live again.
Conclusion
Though infrequent, the hummingbird carries multilayered significance in Toni Morrison’s Beloved. This tiny bird brings the promise of freedom from slavery’s violence and resurrection after devastating loss. The needles of its beak prick characters from complacency, stirring potential for change and redemption.
With swift and darting motion, the hummingbird injects vibrancy and hope into even the darkest emotional landscapes. As a protean symbol, its varied meanings speak to the complexity of healing from intergenerational trauma and finding liberation through remembering the past. For characters suspended between life and death, the hummingbird nudges them toward reconciling contradictions and choosing life over lingering in bitterness.
Ultimately, these electric, shimmering birds spark and revive the human spirit. Their wings, needles, and sweet nectar penetrate characters with transformative power, driving Morrison’s themes of remembrance, redemption, and rebirth in Beloved. So much weight for such a small bird! Yet in Morrison’s deft hands, the hummingbird soars as a central figure in this haunting American tale.
