Theme The theme of Beloved is revealed in the first few pages of the novel as Sethe wants to leave her house as well as the pain within it. Her mother-in-law, Baby Suggs tells her that "not a house in the country ain't packed to the rafters with some dead Negro's grief." Running from grief will lead to more of the same, but by staying and facing the pain, wounds that have been inflicted can begin to heal through grace. The grace of laughter, dance, and tears allows the worst of the grief to pass through the "trembling red heart" and then be forgotten. The physical setting of the novel Beloved is a farmhouse known only as 124, situated on Bluestone Road,