American feminism in Sula by Toni Morrison Sula by Toni Morrison is a novel that tells the story of the complex situations of two very different, but quite similar, women who represent Afro society -American females in the mid-20th century. It allows the reader to see how people in these characters' situations react to obstacles and events, showing a vision of American womanhood that may not be apparent to people of other ethnic backgrounds and experiences. In my opinion, this novel also describes the changing role of women in the twentieth century and the struggle between old ideals and women's newfound independence. Throughout this work, Sula and Nel, together with their respective families, represent opposite extremes. of the spectrum of women's roles. Nel and her family, with the exception of her grandmother, depict women who cling to traditional ideals of love, sex, marriage and friendship. Sula's family, with the exception of Sula's aunt, represents women who set aside traditional conventions of women's roles and embrace freedom in the previously mentioned ideals. The absence of a strong male figure in both families allows each group of women to develop as women in whatever way they choose. Each family develops differently, following the ideals of the matriarch family, but the two families complement each other and highlight the drastic differences and similarities between the two. Nel's mother had a strange family experience as a child. Her mother was a New Orleans prostitute, so her grandmother raised her as a respectable, hard-working but submissive woman with an emphasis on her faith. He married, as respect... middle of paper... men in general. The story itself begins in the year 1919, right before women were granted the right to vote in America in 1920. The novel was published in 1973. The women's movement was at its peak during this time, influenced by works such as Simone de Beauvoir's Le Deuxieme Sexe, published in English in 1953. It is very likely that Morrison, a highly educated university professor and award-winning novelist, was familiar with the movement and these works. Although this novel is a social commentary on African-American culture, the feminist vision contained within it is an equally strong commentary on the role of African-American women in the twentieth century. Works Cited Morrison, Toni. Sula. 1973. New York: Plume, 1982. Work consulted Lewis, Vashti Crutcher. "African Tradition in Toni Morrison's Sula." Phylon 48 (1987): 91-97.