Sethe`s internal conflict and id, when remembering Halle

In this passage it is shown how Paul D triggers Sethe's memories of Halle, and how Sethe needs Paul D's love, because she hasn't experienced desire since she left Sweet home without Halle.

“Paul D sighed and turned over. Sethe took this opportunity afforded by his movement to shift as well. Looking at Paul D´s back, she remembered that some of the corn stalks broke, folded down over Halle´s back, and among the things her fingers clutched were husk and cornsilk hair. “

In this passage on page 32 in Beloved, Sethe has just been intimate with Paul D, making her remember her first sexual encounter with her former husband; Halle, this creates a flashback in the book, that had just finished when this passage is written. The passage tells us that, when Sethe sees Paul D´s back, she is instantly thinking about Halle, instead of the man she just shared a moment with.

Sethe is throughout the book haunted by her past, making current events constantly trigger her mind to think of past memories, good and bad. We can see this in this passage when it is written that; “Looking at Paul D´s back, she remembered that some of the corn stalks broke”

Focusing on the word remembered, we can see how seeing Paul D´s back triggers a memory in Sethe´s subconsciousness. Paul obviously reminds her of her husband, maybe because he is the first man she has been with, since the loss of her husband, or because he too was one of the men at Sweet home.

Why she chooses to grant Paul D´s wishes to find comfort with her, is a mix of many different factors, thought through by her subconsciousness, letting her id make the decision. This is based on her desire to be loved, and need for attention, which is animalistic needs. The way she describes herself throughout the book, makes us believe that she has never been desired by any man, except for the men at Sweet home. This is addressed in the book as Denver is thinking about Paul D coming to visit; “ For twelve years, long before grandma baby died, there had been no visitors of any sort and certainly no friends.”This shows she hadn't had a man since Halle, because nobody has visited the house for twelve years.This explains that when she is reunited with this attention and love, nonetheless desire, she is compelled to act on these feelings of being wanted.

Sethe also creates an internal conflicts by remembering her former husband, subconsciously comparing Paul D to Halle. This quote, and the previous pages,  shows us her love for Halle, especially the way she is romanticizing the whole memory in the cornfield. We can see this in the wording she uses in the passage, looking back at the memory, she tells how she is clutching cornsilk hair, using the word silk when referring to the corn. While her experience with Paul D, was briefly described, followed by a long flashback from Sweet home including the episode in the cornfield.