Sula by Toni Morrison presents different generations of African-American women and the difficulties they face with relentless strength and autonomy. In the Bottom, Eva Peace, a dignified matriarch, gains her confidence through past hardships. Her daughter and granddaughter, Hannah and Sula, continue the trend of female strength in their own ways, but receive contrasting responses from the town. Nel, Sula’s childhood best friend, contrasts the Peace women’s defiance to gender norms, revealing the characters’ different experiences with patriarchal structures. Morrison characterizes African-American women with impressive independence and power, but also describes their moments of weaknesses, conveying to readers readers the difficult realities for this minority group and their strength in confronting those challenges. 

Eva’s character raises her family despite experiencing devastating maltreatment from her husband. When BoyBoy, her husband, abandons her, Eva struggles to provide for her family so she journeys out of Medallion to make money, leaving her children in a neighbor’s care. When Eva returns, “she reclaimed her children, next she gave the surprised Mrs. Snuggs a ten-dollar bill, later she started building a house on Carpenter road sixty feet from Boy Boy’s one-room cabin, which she rented out” (Morrison 34-35). Morrison lists accomplishments that emphasize the character’s newly gained independence. The author’s word choice “retrieved” shows Eva’s power to take back what she values after enduring hardships. The diction describing Mrs. Snuggs’ “surprised” reaction demonstrates Eva’s shocking ability to give a significant sum of money, showing she has become capable of making an income. Despite Eva’s strengths, Morrison describes her suffering in equal detail. A flashback mentions how BoyBoy “liked womanizing best, drinking second, and abusing Eva third” (Morrison 32). The connotation of what BoyBoy “liked”  actually means his frequent engagement in those activities, which all victimize Eva’s character. Morrison adjusts the syntax so that Eva no longer reigns as the subject of sentences. BoyBoy becomes the focus, making Eva seem passive and less capable of creating change during this period. Morrison shows Eva’s dire situations as well as her attainment of strength, giving readers an insight into how African-American women must struggle against challenges in a patriarchal world. The inclusion of Eva’s helplessness and her courage as a single mother cultivates a highly impressive, yet genuine image of this social group.

Morrison’s female characters display their autonomy through rampant sexual expression, yet their reputations remain molded by male opinion. The author describes Hannah’s frequent sexual experiences: “Hannah would take the man down in the cellar” (Morrison 43). Morrison’s diction of how Hannah can “take” men to places gives her leadership over these sexual relationships. Hannah dictates the locations and mannerisms of sex, defying traditional patriarchal standards of male sexual domination. However, men “never gossiped about her [...] her extraordinary beauty and funky elegance of manner made them defend her and protect her from any vitriol” (Morrison 44-45). The condescending tone stems from the words “defend” and “protect,” painting Hannah as a weaker being that men safeguard due to her attractiveness. Like Hannah, Sula often sleeps with different men. Contrastingly, men “gave her the final label, who fingerprinted her for all time. They were the ones who said she was guilty of the unforgivable thing” (Morrison 112). Morrison uses the metaphor to compare labeling and fingerprinting, actions determining personal identities, to the men’s social influences on African-American women. Morrison uses their experience to show how men often have the power to characterize African-American women, but members of this social group can tenaciously continue their way of life, defying externally created definitions of themselves. 

Sula and Nel have the freedom to choose their own paths, but men still heavily impact their identities. Depicting Sula as an impressive woman after returning from her studies, the author describes her “black crepe dress splashed with pink and yellow zinnias” (Morrison 90). The glamorous imagery of Sula’s outfit, which includes unique and bright styles, highlights the character’s unusual experience that deviates from most other women in town. This description applauds the character’s decision to leave Medallion, but Morrison shows how despite Sula’s colorful experiences throughout the country, she still feels a need for men: “Those without men were like sour-tipped needles featuring one constant empty eye. [...] She went to bed with men as frequently as she could. It was the only place where she could find what she was looking for” (Morrison 122). The figurative comparison of women without men to threadless needles shows Sula’s desire for male attention, indicating the continuation of her self discovery through men even after her distinctive experiences outside of Medallion. Unlike Sula, Nel chooses a domestic life and has a different level of reliance on men. Nel “didn’t even know she had a neck until Jude remarked on it, or that her smile was anything but the spreading of her lips until he saw it as a small miracle” (Morrison 84). Morrison reveals the foundation of Nel and Jude’s relationship by giving readers Jude’s perspective. Comparing Nel’s smile to “a small miracle” exemplifies how Jude gives value to Nel’s happiness, showing his impact on forming her identity. While Sula desires the company of men out of interest, Nel relies on Jude for a sense of self. The two characters demonstrate the variety of aspirations within a social group due to their different life experiences. Despite revealing the group’s need for men in a patriarchal society, Morrison compares the characters paths to show individuality and varying pursuits within their social group 

In Sula, moments of female fragility actualize the countless struggles African-American women go through, further illustrating their strength despite those moments. Eva’s authority over her household becomes more impressive after readers realize her passiveness in the past. In an era where reputation defines women, Hannah and Sula’s attachment to their own wishes demonstrates individualism. And despite Sula and Nel’s yearning for male attention, the decisions to pursue their own terms of happiness accentuates their independent thinking. Sula shows that nuanced portrayals of life’s challenges realistically express a social group’s abilities and potential.