The Rose In Nel's Eyes

The Rose in Nel’s Eyes Toni Morrison’s novel Sula narrates the unique story of the friendship of two girls who carry different personalities. Nel Wright, who lives in a more conventional household, is often seen as reserved but fits perfectly into the community’s social expectations. On the other hand, Sula Peace lives in a family with less restrictions, causing her grow more and more against the social expectations. Because of her wildness, Sula becomes a threat to the community. Her birthmark, especially, causes chaos as different characters interpret it differently. Through Nel's description of Sula’s “dark rose” towards the end of the novel, it is implied that she reads Sula’s birthmark as a rose throughout their life time. However, as …show more content…
The narrator describes Sula “with large quiet eyes, one of which featured a birthmark…shaped something like a stemmed rose…it was the same shade as her gold-flecked eyes…” (52-53). This is the first time when the novel introduces Sula’s rose shaped birthmark and implies that Nel views it the same way. As a rose often connotes romance, beauty, and is a symbol of love, Nel’s reading of the birthmark as a rose signifies her purity, innocence, her view of Sula’s beauty, and their strong friendship. The passage describes the rose as the same color as Sula’s “gold-flecked eyes”—a color that represents power and wealth, which further supports that Nel’s view of the birthmark shows her belief in their firm and unbreakable friendship; it suggests that Nel greatly appreciates and values Sula. As the narrator continues to explain their relationship, “They found relief in each other’s personality” (53), the rose that Nel sees on Sula’s face indicates the relief that she finds in Sula. A rose also symbolizes strength and independence, which Nel sees in Sula and is dependent on Sula for. The light and gold colored rose birthmark in Nel’s eyes represents her innocence, but it also shows the value she sees in her relationship with