"Something funny 'bout that gal," Paul D said, mostly to himself.
"Funny how?"
"Acts sick, sounds sick, but she don't look sick. Good skin, bright eyes and strong as a bull."
"She's not strong. She can hardly walk without holding on to something."
"That's what I mean. Can't walk, but I seen her pick up the rocker with one hand."
"You didn't."
"Don't tell me. Ask Denver. She was right there with her." […]
"Paul D says you and him saw Beloved pick up the rocking chair single-handed. That so?"
Long, heavy lashes made Denver's eyes seem busier than they were; deceptive, even when she held a steady gaze as she did now on Paul D. "No," she said. "I didn't see no such thing."
Paul D frowned but said nothing. If there had been an open latch between them, it would have closed. (5.58-64, 67-69)
Tsk, tsk, deceptive Denver. But how about that last line about the "open latch"? That's Morrison's talent: she creates an image for us that shows just how Paul D and Denver are shut out from each other from this point on. Just another example of how Paul D is associated with picture-metaphors (think: tin box heart).
Quote 11
She moved him.
Not the way he had beat off the baby's ghost—all bang and shriek with windows smashed and jelly jars rolled in a heap. But she moved him nonetheless, and Paul D didn't know how to stop it because it looked like he was moving himself. Imperceptibly, downright reasonably, he was moving out of 124. (11.1-2)
Here we get the build-up and the justification for the chapter's final betrayal: Beloved's seduction of Paul D—or Paul D's decision to sleep with Beloved, however you want to look at it). What do you think? Is Beloved really moving Paul D around? Can he really not control his body?