Many scholars have observed that Beloved is a novel centered around memory and the past. Early in the story, Denver introduces the theme of selectively focusing on history. She wants to hear the tale of her extraordinary birth but prefers to avoid the painful details of Sethe's perilous escape to freedom. This selective memory is common among the former slaves, who, aside from Stamp Paid, have not fully faced their complete histories. Paul D's arrival at 124 sparks a conversation about the Sweet Home men, but Sethe shares with him only a shortened version of the most pivotal event in her life: "I wasn't going back there... Any life but not that one. I went to jail instead." While she doesn't lie to Paul and her motive for killing Beloved is evident, she leaves out the most critical detail. This selective storytelling reflects Sethe's eighteen years of seclusion since the incident.

Sethe has been obsessed with the past but hasn't come to terms with it. Paul D's connections to Sweet Home, Halle, and Baby Suggs bring back many memories, and Sethe confronts her past directly through her daughter's physical manifestation. She must repeatedly recount her story to herself and Beloved to make her actions and their meaning clear to Denver and herself. As critic Valerie Smith points out, as a ghost brought to life, Beloved is "literally the story of the past embodied," compelling Sethe, Paul D, and Denver to face "not only the story of her sorrow and theirs; indeed, they encounter its incarnation."

Throughout the novel, Sethe often uses the word "rememory," both as a verb (to remember) and a noun (memory). This linguistic device created by Morrison emphasizes the importance of reconciling with our individual and shared histories. It's clear that Morrison isn't portraying an uneducated character's misuse of language. At times, Sethe accurately uses both roots, but she and Beloved must "rememory" the past, meaning they must fully come to terms with their experiences as real events, not just stories. Only when Sethe has "rememoried" what happened to Beloved in that lean-to and dealt with the painful decision she made can she hope to carry her past into the future.

In another sense, Morrison even challenges this interpretation by repeating in the final chapter that this "was not a story to pass on." Sethe needs to accept and conclude this story to place it in a past that prepares for the future, rather than replacing it.