Beloved and Fledgling

“There are stark differences between each girl; Beloved has the mind and characteristics of an infant with the body of a teenager, while Shori is the direct opposite: an adult Ina in the body of an adolescent child, yet the discomfort produced by the girls’ sexual actions is tangible and parallel. Biological dependencies and subconscious urges also play a key role in developing these unique situations; logic is entirely disregarded as the characters engage in acts that are deeply taboo in modern-day society. The symbionts and their Ina in Fledgling act off of a literal, biological need for one another, while the supernatural, haunting presence of the past impedes the everyday lives of everyone living at 124 in Beloved, distorting and manipulating their actions as Beloved grows in power. Both girls’ lives were shaped by external circumstances and social hierarchies out of their control; Shori’s being that of the Ina structure and Beloved being that of slavery. Each set of circumstances contributed greatly to the presence of sexual otherness within their lives, therefore allowing us to use these situations in analysis to bring attention to archaic, degrading opinions about the black female body.”