Morrison uses vivid images and a stark contrast of emotion to highlight the rifts in Sethe’s love and hint at slavery as a cause; she also creates ambiguity to convey the confusion of Sethe’s love. As Sethe first begins her encounter with what seems to be Baby Suggs’s spirit “she bowed her head” and the fingers begin to caress her “no more than the strokes of bird feather” (112). The bowing of her head implies complete submission to spirit which suggests that she may still be a slave to the spirits of Baby Suggs as well as her memories. The imagery of bird feathers connotes the softness of the touch but also suggests the overall delicacy of Sethe’s emotions and relationships. As the encounter continues, with what now begins to seem more like the ghost of Beloved, the touch became “harder, harder, while the fingers moved toward her windpipe” and soon “the fingers had a grip on her that would not let her breathe” (113). The repetition of “harder” creates the image of a measured, yet rapid descent from a calm, gentle interaction, to a harsh, painful one. This contrast between the gentle and the painful implies that Sethe continues to be scarred by her life at Sweet Home. This also hints at life at Sweet Home and how at one moment she was treated gently and with care, and then abruptly treated brutally. This contrast helps to depict the harsh reality of the slaves’ lives and the flustered relations they endured with their owners and drivers.
I like the idea you bring up of Sethe feeling peaceful and safe with the presence of Baby Suggs but how that feeling of safety can vanish rapidly. This idea can further be seen further in the novel when Baby Suggs gives her teaching to the former slaves in the clearing. There are strong contrasting images between freedom and slavery that highlight how important it is to appreciate one's freedom. In Baby Suggs presence, Sethe felt this freedom, but now that she is dead, she is restrained by her horrific memories of her past.
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