Boyd, Melba (2014):
"The Ghost Got It Wrong: Frances E. W. Harper and Toni Morrison. A Century A/Part." Slavery Revisited. Special issue of Black Studies Papers 1.1: 143-151.
Journal Article
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 imaginary 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 ‘realizable’ appreciation of her true story.