The Lengths of Religion

As Sethe enters the room searching for the perfect tombstone for her deceased daughter, she encounters a situation where she is willing give her body for the betterment of her daughters passing.  

Ten minutes for seven letters. With another ten could she have gotten "Dearly" too? ... … she heard the preacher say at the funeral (and all there was to say, surely) engraved on her baby's headstone: Dearly Beloved.

From what we know about Sethe, she is a very strong willed women. Her actions, emotions, motives and demeanor make the reader comprehend the depth of her character. She has faced an immense amount of grief in her life, from losing a daughter, to being whipped at the plantation, to seeing her sons flee in front of her own eyes. However, the intentions of a mother and in many cases Sethe, no matter how strong of a woman she may be, is to care and treat her children to the best of her ability.

To many, giving up your body for a tombstone would seem as an absurd act; an act of weakness and self despair. However, for Sethe it was a way of finding closure. For Sethe, having sex was not for an act of pleasure, but more to transition her daughters soul from the present world into the world unknown. The tombstone was the first step of the process.

Morrison uses the tombstone as a way to juxtapose the purpose and meaning of the situation. A tombstone is a symbol known to be related with a funeral; a funeral generally consists of religious hymns prayers to the lord.  A funeral is carried out by a priest in a church, with the priest blessing the body for a safe journey into the eternal life. Sex before marriage, however, in the Christian or Roman Catholic religion, is an act frowned upon; it is said your soul will reside in hell after death. As Sethe preparing to bid farewell to her daughter, she clearly was not bound by any religious beliefs. Sethe, however, wanted the funeral to be carried out, encapsulating the beliefs of the Roman Catholic or Christian religion. Though there is much more to be revealed about Sethe and her character in the latter parts of the novel, this passage describes the actions Sethe will take to better the lives of her children, alive or dead.