The community women exorcise Beloved

Led by Ella, a group of thirty women from the community gather outside 124 to confront the evil they believe has taken hold of Sethe. They pray and sing, their voices rising in a powerful, wordless sound. Inside, Sethe and Beloved are on the porch, and as the women sing, Sethe experiences a moment of clarity and peace. But then she sees Mr. Bodwin, who has come to pick up Denver for work, and mistakes him for schoolteacher. In a flash, she grabs an ice pick and runs toward him, intending to kill him to protect Beloved.