The Ghost Got It Wrong: Frances E. W. Harper and Toni Morrison. A Century A/Part

Abstract

The article considers some key differences between Harper s poetic treatment of Margaret Garner s life in The Slave Mother, A Tale of the Ohio and Morrison s fictional diversion from actual historical events in Beloved. The essay critiques the creative reasoning of the author s imag-inary with regards to the ghost s haunting of her family, especially her mother. The essay also considers the inclusion of the ghost at the end of the opera, Margaret Garner, another problematic that runs counter to a re-alizable appreciation of her true story.