| Description |
In Sula, Toni Morrison reinvokes ancient archetypes which may be traced back to the origins of African cosmology and religion. Mythical concepts of time, kinship, death, and magic continually surface throughout the novel and prepare the way for the divine transformation of Eva and Sula Peace. Eva Peace, matriarch of the Peace family and symbolic descendant of the archetypal mother, Eve, is the trunk from which her children grow and develop branches. Her divine inheritance leaves her with an irrefutable impulse to bear, nourish, and ultimately devour the fruits of her womb. Eva maintains her social status by concealing the murder of her son, Plum, from the eyes of the community, and this act transforms her into the ancient paradigm of the Terrible Mother. Sula receives spiritual sustenance from the Yoruba goddess, Oya. Like Oya, Sula possesses seductively deceptive powers which enchant the men of the Bottom. The women of the community live in fear of this seemingly wrathful goddess, who, ironically intends them no harm. By recreating herself without regard for the opinions of society, Sula achieves ultimate immortality. |
