Sophie's Choice is a 1979 novel by American author William Styron, portraying the complex relationships among three individuals residing in a Brooklyn boarding house. The narrative follows Stingo, a young Southerner aspiring to become a novelist, who becomes intimately involved with a turbulent couple: Nathan Landau, a Jewish intellectual, and Sophie Zawistowska, a Polish-Catholic Holocaust survivor.
The novel presents a layered exploration of its characters, particularly Sophie, whose harrowing experiences in the Nazi concentration camps are revealed through her relationship with Stingo. In her past, she spent a traumatizing few years at Auschwitz, where she faced unimaginable choices that continue to haunt her. Nathan's mental instability and abusive behavior, exacerbated by his addiction to stimulants, add to the tension and complexity of their interactions. The narrative reaches a climax as Sophie is forced to confront her most painful memory the choice imposed upon her by a camp doctor, determining which of her two children would be spared from immediate death.
Sophie's Choice delves into themes of guilt, survival, and the human capacity for both love and destruction. It challenges the reader to consider the universal implications of the Holocaust and the nature of evil, presenting a controversial take on the historical events by emphasizing the suffering of non-Jewish victims alongside Jewish ones. The novel also stirred controversy for its explicit portrayal of sexual and emotional relationships, leading to censorship and bans in various contexts, including the Soviet Union, Communist Poland, and some American schools.
Despite—or perhaps because of—these challenges, Sophie's Choice remains a pivotal work that continues to spur discussion on moral, historical, and literary fronts. Winner of the US National Book Award for Fiction in 1980, Styron's novel was adapted into a successful film in 1982, winning Meryl Streep the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Sophie.
Themes
The moral and ethical dilemmas in extreme conditions
The traumatic effects of the Holocaust and survivor's guilt
The complexity of human relationships and love
Mental illness and its impact on individuals and their relationships
The journey towards self-discovery and artistic creation
The nature of evil and its presence in history
The struggle with personal guilt and the quest for redemption
Exploration of identity, including national and religious identity
Depiction of prejudice and anti-Semitism
The universal versus particular understanding of historical events
Setting
Sophie's Choice is set primarily in Brooklyn during the late 1940s, after the end of World War II. The novel's narrator, Stingo, an aspiring writer, moves into a boarding house in Brooklyn, where he becomes entangled in the lives of his fellow residents, Sophie and Nathan. Sophie is a Polish-Catholic survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, while Nathan is a Jewish American with a turbulent history.
Through flashbacks, Sophie's Choice transports us to Sophie's past in pre-war Poland and her harrowing experiences in Auschwitz. The novel's exploration of the Holocaust's lasting effects on individuals and their relationships unfolds against the backdrop of post-war Brooklyn, where the characters attempt to rebuild their lives in the shadows of an unspeakable tragedy.
Characters
Stingo: A young Southerner aspiring to become a writer who befriends Sophie and Nathan after moving to Brooklyn.
Sophie Zawistowska: A beautiful Polish woman and Holocaust survivor involved in a tumultuous relationship with Nathan. She bears a deep, painful secret from her past.
Nathan Landau: A brilliant but volatile Jewish intellectual in a relationship with Sophie. He suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.
Rudolf Höss: The commander of Auschwitz during Sophie’s captivity.
Eva: Sophie's daughter, whose fate is a central, tragic element of Sophie's secret and guilt.
FAQs
What is the central conflict or dilemma in the story?
Sophie's Choice revolves around Sophie's traumatic past as a prisoner in Auschwitz, where she was forced by a Nazi doctor to make a terrible decision about the fate of her two children.
What is the significance of the title "Sophie's Choice"?
The title of the novel refers to the devastating choice Sophie faced in Auschwitz, determining which of her two children would be sent to the gas chambers and which would be spared.
How does Sophie's choice affect her psychologically and emotionally?
Sophie's choice to sacrifice her 8-year-old daughter Eva leaves her with immense guilt and emotional trauma that she struggles to overcome, leading to depression, alcoholism, and a willingness to self-destruct.
How does the novel explore themes of guilt, trauma, and the human condition?
Through Sophie's experiences and her crippling guilt over her choice, the novel delves into the profound trauma inflicted by the Holocaust and explores the depths of human suffering, resilience, and the moral dilemmas faced in extreme circumstances.
What is the role of Stingo in the novel?
Stingo, the young aspiring writer, serves as both the narrator and an observer, witnessing and gradually uncovering the tragic histories of Sophie and Nathan, and their tumultuous relationship.
How does the novel depict the characters of Sophie and Nathan?
Sophie is portrayed as a beautiful, complex Polish-Catholic woman haunted by her past trauma, while Nathan is depicted as a brilliant but mentally unstable Jewish intellectual whose love for Sophie is both passionate and destructive.
What is the significance of the setting in Brooklyn?
The novel's setting in a Brooklyn boarding house provides a microcosm for exploring the characters' relationships, backgrounds, and the themes of displacement, identity, and the lingering effects of the Holocaust.
How does the novel address themes of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust?
While primarily focused on Sophie's personal tragedy, Sophie's Choice also explores the broader context of anti-Semitism, the horrors of the Holocaust, and the lasting impact on survivors and their loved ones.
What controversies surrounded the novel upon its publication?
Sophie's Choice generated controversy for its portrayal of the Holocaust, with some critics arguing that Styron attempted to universalize the experience and diminish the specific targeting of Jewish people.
How has the novel been adapted into other media?
Sophie's Choice was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film in 1982, directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Meryl Streep in the role of Sophie. It was also adapted into an opera by composer Nicholas Maw in 2002.
Quotes
"There are friends one makes at a youthful age in whom one simply rejoices, for whom one possesses a love and loyalty mysteriously lacking in the friendships made in after-years, no matter how genuine."
"Let your love flow out on all living things."
"I have learned to cry again and I think perhaps that means I am a human being again. Perhaps that at least. A piece of human being but yes, a human being."
"Mercifully, I was at that age when reading was still a passion and thus, save for a happy marriage, the best state possible in which to keep absolute loneliness at bay. I could not have made it through those evenings otherwise."
"I suddenly encountered the face of loneliness, and decided that it was a merciless and ugly face indeed."
"Real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring."
"The query: At Auschwitz, tell me, where was God? And the answer: Where was man?"
Quick facts
Sophie's Choice was adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 1982, for which Meryl Streep won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
William Styron's inspiration for Sophie's Choice partly came from his encounter with a refugee from Poland and his visit to Auschwitz while researching the novel.
The pivotal "choice" scenario in the novel was inspired by a story Styron attributes to Hannah Arendt, about a Romani woman forced by the Nazis to choose which of her children would be killed.
The author's daughter, Alexandra Styron claimed in The New Yorker that the character of Sophie was inspired by a woman who lived above Styron in a boarding house in Flatbush, Brooklyn, whom he dreamt about.
Sophie's Choice has provoked criticism for its portrayal of the Holocaust, specifically Styron's framing of Auschwitz in universal rather than exclusively Jewish terms.
Sophie's Choice was banned in the Soviet Union and Communist Poland, and has faced bans and censorship in several other countries and some schools in the United States due to its sexually explicit content.
An opera based on the novel premiered at the Royal Opera House in London in 2002.
Styron received the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation’s Witness to Justice Award in 2002, 22 years after the publication of Sophie's Choice.
About the author
William Clark Styron Jr. was an eminent American novelist and essayist, recognized for his contributions to literature through works that grappled with complex themes such as race, depression, and the moral ambiguities of history and human nature. Born in 1925 in historic Newport News, Virginia, he was raised in the South by a liberal Southern father and Northern mother, provding him with a nuanced perspective on race relations and social justice.
Influenced by the works of Thomas Wolfe and other notables, Styron enrolled at Duke University to hone his craft as a writer. He paused his studies to serve in the US Marine Corps during World War II, although he never saw combat. After the war, he returned to Duke to complete his degree in English.
His first novel, Lie Down in Darkness (1951), brought him critical acclaim, launching a career marked by both literary accolades and controversy. The Confessions of Nat Turner (1968), aportrayal of the historical leader of a slave rebellion, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and sparked intense debate over racial representation. Sophie’s Choice (1979) won the National Book Award and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film starring Meryl Streep. While praised for its exploration of trauma, guilt, memory, and survival, the novel was also debated for depicting the horrors of the Holocaust through the experiences of a Polish-Catholic character rather than focusing on the targeted persecution and extermination of Jews.
In addition to his novels, Styron is renowned for his memoir Darkness Visible (1990), a courageous account of his battle with depression and hard-won recovery, which challenged societal stigmas surrounding mental illness. Throughout his lifetime, he received numerous awards, including the Legion d'Honneur and the National Medal of Arts. He was also a founding member of the Paris Review, contributing to the literary landscape not only through his novels but also through his support for other writers.
William Styron passed away on November 1, 2006, in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. His works, characterized by their psychological depth and moral complexity, continue to provoke discussion and analysis. Recognized as one of the greatest American writers of his generation, Styron is remembered not only for his contributions to literature but also for his advocacy on issues of mental health and racial inequality.
