Song of Solomon - Relationship Between Ruth and Milkman
Something I find interesting in the first 7 chapters of Song of Solomon is the relationship between Ruth and Milkman. Ruth is Milkman's mother, so she raised him. However, their mother-son dynamic was atypical. One perplexing idea is that Ruth breastfeeds Milkman to serve her own sexual desires. Morrison writes, “Her passions were narrow but deep. Long deprived of sex, long dependent on self-manipulation…she saw her son’s imminent death as the annihilation of the last occasion she had been made love to” (Morrison, 134). I immediately annotated this with the phrase "ew." I realize this comment is a little childish and this certainly has a deeper meaning, but thinking about my life, all I could say was "ew."
Milkman both loves and hates his mother. Early on, he shields her from Macon, his father, but their relationship is damaged when he finds out that Macon suspects her of engaging in an illicit relationship with her own father. Throughout Milkman's life, his relations with Ruth change, but they are never what one might see as a normal mother-son relationship.
I also found the relationship between Milkman and his mother to be somewhat disturbing. However, I do think it's important to analyze Ruth's motivations as you have done. Ruth calls Milkman "a passion" as an indication of the last time that she felt sexually fulfilled by her husband. Since Milkman was born out of the last moment of passion between his parents, Ruth tries to preserve that passion in any way she can, such as breastfeeding him to grasp at any pleasure she can get. I also found this scene disturbing, and "ew" is an appropriate response. Yet, pushing through that initial discomfort is crucial for understanding the complexity of their relationship, and I appreciate that you have done so in your post.
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