The key mood of Beloved is tragic, but the
novel is varied enough to include a range of emotions, including hope and joy.
The main theme of Beloved is that a person must confront the
past in order to heal the wounds it has caused. The main characters and all the members of the black community in Cincinnati are haunted by the traumas of slavery and racism. Throughout the
novel, the characters work hard to avoid the past because it is filled with pain and horror for them. Sethe, in particular, shows the tendency to repress the past; but until she faces it, she cannot enjoy the future.