The Nature Of Motherhood In Toni Morrison's Sula

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In Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, readers are treated to the inner-workings of race, gender, and culture as the story is strung together by Morrison’s crafty usage of imagery and language. When the reader is first introduced to the characters that inhabit the bottom, intricate relationships that form an edgy dynamic makes the reader aware of the complexities that lie under the surface. Morrison soon focuses on the nature of motherhood and the ways in which the circumstances in a mother’s life impacts their abilities to conform to the archetype of a good mother. Morrison paints motherhood to be multi-faceted and, at times, heavily convoluted. Through her portrayals of Eva and Helene women and their inclinations to be mothers are shown in ways that …show more content…

While Eva is an unyielding force of nature, Morrison shows the reader how Eva’s dealings with poverty and marital troubles lead to her hard natured approach to being a mother. “Hating BoyBoy, she could get on with it, and have the safety, the thrill, the consistency of that hatred as long as she wanted or needed it to define and strengthen her or protect her from routine vulnerabilities” (Morrison 36). The hatred that Eva held for her ex-husband and the circumstances that stem from their marriage and his leaving allows the reader to understand the place from which Eva pulled her determination and seemingly callus nature. With the use of the phrase “routine vulnerabilities”, the reader is forced to acknowledge the susceptibility to heartache with which every mother must grapple. Eva uses her hatred to shield herself from becoming weakened by such heartache to ensure that her children receive the care that they need to survive. She also exercises the rigid control of her emotions to force a semblance of ascendancy over her life that is otherwise controlled by physical need and her fears for the safety and livelihood of her

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