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... fortunately for Cynthia, Roxane is easily annoyed and bothered by her mothers constant nagging, even going so far as to call her mother vulgar names. The relationship between the mother and daughter is very strained and unhealthy. It is often necessary for Roxane to leave the house, to escape the constant nagging that her mother is unable to cease from spouting forth. As the movie progresses, we learn that Roxane was not Cynthia's only child. Cynthia had a baby at the age of sixteen, which she immediately put up for adoption.
Cynthia never counted on being confronted by this lost child, and thus, in her mind, lived only as a suppressed memory. The baby, who came to be known as Hortense, grew up in an adoptive family where she was well loved. Following the death of her adoptive parents, she is driven by a need for answers, driven by a determination to seek out her true maternal mother. By meeting her mother she hoped to become free of her past, to finally know the truth.
This was a very difficult decision for Hortense, knowing that her hopes and dreams of meeting her true, biological mother could end up in a sad or uncomfortable situation. In searching for the answers to questions from her past, Hortense is able to help Cynthia. Cynthia is finally able to vent many of her frustrations and reveal many experiences from her past that she had continued to bottle up deep inside of her. Because of this, the relationship between Cynthia and Roxane improves immensely.
Hortense was able to unite the family unit that was so close to collapsing and teetering on utter destruction. The movie ends with the three woman engaged in pleasant conversation, a drastic change from the bickering and superficial hatred that existed between Cynthia and Roxane earlier in the movie. By examining certain aspects of Beloved and Secrets and Lies, there are definite similarities which can be drawn up, especially in the roles and personalities of the main characters. Take for example Cynthia and Sethe. Both females are overwhelmed and controlled by events from the past.
In response to such events, they have decided to hide these feeling and emotions, hiding them from not only themselves but also the people they love. By keeping such emotions bottled up, both women are on the brink of losing their sanity, unable to cope with the everyday tortures of remembering their pasts. Fortunately, for both Sethe and Cynthia, a daughter that they thought to be lost forever, returns to help them, to help free them from the past. In Sethe's case this was done by Beloved, for Cynthia it was Hortense. Another similarity is each womens inability to love. Both women were deprived of love as children, and consequently were unable and inexperienced when it became time to love their own children.
With the return of Beloved for Sethe and the return of Hortense for Cynthia, the two mothers finally discover the true meaning of love. Although Roxane and Denver are, for the most part, completely different characters, there are still a small number of similarities that one can uncover. For example, both daughters are forced to live their lives under the microscope of their overly protective and overbearing mothers. Despite this similarity, how the two girls react to the situation is much different. Denver is able to accept the fact that she is not to leave the house, not to venture out into the real world.
She in content to live her life in the confinement of Sethe's small house. Roxane, on the other hand, reacts very differently. She is so disgusted by her mothers constant shadowing and in response, is very bitter and negative to her mother. Roxane often runs from the house, yelling profanity, escaping the captivity which she is unwilling to accept. In the end, both Denver and Roxane are able to escape the confinement set forth by their mothers.
Denver reacts to this new freedom by venturing out into the surrounding community. Roxane reacts to this new freedom by flashing the smile that she so seldom revealed earlier in the movie. Quite possibly the strongest similarity between characters in Beloved and Secrets and Lies was that of Beloved and Hortense. Both of these daughters were separated from their families at an early stage in life, with Beloveds death occurring around the age of two and Hortense being placed into adoption at birth.
Both of these children returned to their families in search of answers, answers about their past. Beloved is constantly nagging Sethe about events from the past, hoping to free up some answers, dislodge some of the painful memories that Sethe had worked so hard to hide. Hortense does the same, asking about her father and other circumstances leading up to her birth. Hortense provides a means for Cynthia to finally reveal some of the pain and suffering that she has been forced to keep concealed.
By bringing the past into the present, Beloved and Hortense help their mothers to escape the pain caused from the past. Not only do Beloved and Hortense help their mothers, but also their sisters. Denver and Beloved spend a large amount of quality time together, frolicking in the forest, playing in the yard. Beloved becomes the only friend that Denver has ever really had. The same goes for Roxane. Roxane and Hortense are very happy basking in each others company.
At the end of the movie they are laughing and discussing going out to pubs and the sort. Fortunately for the two families in Beloved and Secrets and Lies, they were able to recover from the unfortunate circumstances that plagued them from the past. With the help of a forgotten daughter, both mothers were able to face their pasts, accept their memories as unfortunate circumstances that they had no control over. In effect, Beloved and Hortense played the role of freedom fighters. By hiding and bottling up their past, Sethe and Cynthia incarcerated themselves in a state of emotional turmoil. By relieving the mothers of their pasts, Beloved and Hortense freed them and opened up their eyes to the joys and beauty of life.
Neither mother had a strong sense of self, the understanding and acceptance of who and what they really were. With this new freedom, by putting their pasts behind them, Sethe and Cynthia were able to finally discover the self that had been hidden and strangled by the memories of the past. Sethe and Cynthia were finally free. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: the Penguin Group. 1987.
Simon Channing- Williams. (1996) Secrets & Lies, United Kingdom. Bibliography:
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