Beloved runs away in anger, insisting that Sethe was being choked by the “circle of iron,” not by her. We learn that as a seven-year-old Denver attended school lessons with other Black children at the home of a woman they called Lady Jones.

Did Baby Suggs choke Sethe?

Once Sethe got there, Baby Suggs took care of her, bathed her, and bandaged her. … Now, at the Clearing, Sethe goes to Baby Suggs’ old preaching rock and wishes Baby Suggs were there to rub her neck. Suddenly, she feels invisible fingers massaging her neck. But then, the fingers begin to choke her.

Who does Sethe think tried to strangle her?

Walking back to 124, Sethe decides that the fingers choking her belonged to the ghost Paul D scared away from the house. After her time in the Clearing, Sethe convinces herself that if she could handle years alone with the ghost, then she and Paul D can handle the weight of their past together.