This essay will be discussing how the motif of sacrifice is used by Toni Morrison throughout her novel Sula (1974), namely the sacrifice of motherhood. Sacrifice is found in different forms in Sula; physically through self-mutilation, murder or suicide and also the emotional sacrifice of love. This sacrifice of love is shown primarily through the mothers in the story, through what they have had to give up to keep their children alive.
The motif of sacrifice in Sula is most strongly depicted though Eva, the main mothering figure in the novel.
As the novel progresses, the sacrifices made by Eva become more extreme and they also shape the way other characters in the novel behave.
The early sacrifices that Eva makes for her children are moderate and are within the normal realms of motherhood. At the start of chapter 1923, Hannah asks her mother Eva if she ever loved her and her siblings when they were children. Eva’s response is one of anger at being asked such a question but comes to the conclusion that she did not love them the way that Hannah meant. To Eva, the sacrifices she made to keep her children alive while extremely poor, equates to love. …show more content…
In the context of Eva we see an escalation over the course of the novel of the sacrifices she makes for her children. These range from sacrificing her own personal comfort for her children through to the extreme sacrifice of her son’s life. The sacrifices she makes affect not only herself but also those around her, such as her daughter Hannah and her granddaughter Sula, with Hannah questioning ‘what is love’, and Sula self-mutilating as Eva did as a way of protecting others. Morrison’s use of sacrifice as a motif in Sula allows the reader to relate to the characters and their predicaments, especially the sacrifices of motherhood. However, by depicting extreme examples such as self-mutilation and murder she challenges the reader to question ‘how far is too
The motif of sacrifice in Sula is most strongly depicted though Eva, the main mothering figure in the novel.
As the novel progresses, the sacrifices made by Eva become more extreme and they also shape the way other characters in the novel behave.
The early sacrifices that Eva makes for her children are moderate and are within the normal realms of motherhood. At the start of chapter 1923, Hannah asks her mother Eva if she ever loved her and her siblings when they were children. Eva’s response is one of anger at being asked such a question but comes to the conclusion that she did not love them the way that Hannah meant. To Eva, the sacrifices she made to keep her children alive while extremely poor, equates to love. …show more content…
In the context of Eva we see an escalation over the course of the novel of the sacrifices she makes for her children. These range from sacrificing her own personal comfort for her children through to the extreme sacrifice of her son’s life. The sacrifices she makes affect not only herself but also those around her, such as her daughter Hannah and her granddaughter Sula, with Hannah questioning ‘what is love’, and Sula self-mutilating as Eva did as a way of protecting others. Morrison’s use of sacrifice as a motif in Sula allows the reader to relate to the characters and their predicaments, especially the sacrifices of motherhood. However, by depicting extreme examples such as self-mutilation and murder she challenges the reader to question ‘how far is too