Summary
Sula, published in 1973, is a powerful and provocative novel by Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. Set in a small Ohio town, it explores the complex friendship between two Black women, Nel Wright and Sula Peace, spanning several decades. The book delves into themes of identity, community, and the challenges faced by African American women in the early 20th century.
Morrison's lyrical prose and innovative narrative structure have earned Sula widespread critical acclaim. The novel's examination of female relationships and societal expectations has made it a cornerstone of African American and feminist literature. Its exploration of moral ambiguity and the nature of good and evil continues to resonate with readers.
Plot
Set in the small town of Medallion, Ohio, Sula follows the lives of two African American women, Nel Wright and Sula Peace, who form an intense friendship as children. Growing up in the tight-knit Black community known as the Bottom, Nel comes from a conventional family, while Sula's household is seen as eccentric and unconventional. Their bond is cemented by a shared traumatic event—the accidental drowning of a young boy named Chicken Little, which they keep secret.
As the girls grow into women, their paths diverge. Nel chooses a traditional life, marrying and starting a family in Medallion. Sula, however, leaves town for 10 years to attend college and live independently. When she returns, her free-spirited ways and affairs with married men scandalize the community. The town's reaction to Sula paradoxically brings people closer together, as they unite in their disapproval of her behavior.
The childhood friends briefly reconcile, but their relationship is shattered when Sula has an affair with Nel's husband, Jude. This betrayal ends their friendship, and Sula becomes increasingly isolated from the community. She dies alone in 1940, with only the town outcast Shadrack mourning her passing. After Sula's death, the harmony that had existed in the Bottom begins to dissolve.
Years later, in 1965, Nel visits Sula's grandmother Eva in a nursing home. Eva reveals that she knew about Chicken Little's death, forcing Nel to confront her own role in the tragedy. The novel concludes with Nel visiting Sula's grave, finally realizing that it was the loss of her friend, not her husband, that had left such a void in her life. She grieves for the years of friendship lost between them.
