Possessive love in Secrets and Lies and Beloved The word "freedom" is subject to varying degrees of interpretation, meaning that it can be used in more of a context. One definition of freedom is the idea of ​​having your own sense of self without the control of others. On the other hand, lack of freedom is the idea of ​​feeling trapped and suffocated in a situation over which you have no control. Freedom can concern school, relationships or even within oneself. The lack of freedom cannot have anything to do with others but with the ball and chain that one can put on oneself. Of course the outside world will be involved, but the pain of feeling trapped comes from the frustration that fills the soul. A lack of freedom can result from a vicious circle of other events and other people. In the novel Beloved and the film Secrets and Lies, the bondage that Roxanne and Denver feel comes from their mothers' possessive love. Sethe and Cynthia both have horrible pasts, which have left them captive and forced them to have unhealthy relationships with their daughters. Sethe and Cynthia love the only way they know how, possessively and dependently, causing Denver and Roxanne to become mentally enslaved. In the film Secrets and Lies, both Cynthia and her twenty-one-year-old daughter Roxanne live a life of captivity. Cynthia's is due to her inexplicable past, while Roxanne's is the result of her overbearing mother. Cynthia's lack of freedom comes not from the actions of another, but from her own past. The trauma and lack of love she experienced has been blocked, and instead of dealing with it, she thrives on the attention of others. When she meets her daughter Hortense, whom she had given up for adoption... middle of paper... or a life as she is now under Beloved's control, she chooses a life for herself. Receiving support for the first time, freeing both daughters, and restoring her sense of self, Sethe is on her way to a life of happiness and confidence, rather than dependence on others. Although their backgrounds are completely different, both Cynthia and Sethe battle the same demons. Their past has consumed them and dependence on others, or complete isolation, is the only way they know how to deal with it. This causes Roxanne and Denver to be mentally enslaved. To overcome emotional scars, they must learn to stand on their own two feet. Only when they do so will they be able to free their daughters and restore their self-worth and freedom for all. Works Cited Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.