May 2023
Sula chronicles the story of an impoverished and bitter black town as spirited outcast Sula leaves and comes in a storm of birds, bringing chaos and unity with her. Though the town hates Sula, they are united in their hate, and her presence brings them harmony. Sula’s closest and only friend Nel is the only one who stays by her side, but even Nel drives Sula away when Sula sleeps with Nel’s husband, Clyde. Nel balances between love, hate, jealousy and guilt throughout the book even when she and Sula are apart. Nel’s complex feelings about Sula stem from her upbringing, where she was taught to suppress her spirit by Helene, and from her emotional ties with Sula, which bind them so closely that they are considered one entity. Though conflict drives Nel and Sula apart, starting with Chicken Little’s death, Nel remains Sula’s best friend until Sula’s death, and Nel’s anger and closeness with Sula merge in guilt and grief, two emotions that show how deeply Nel’s relationship with Sula ran despite the Bottom’s hate. Toni Morrison contrasts the difference between watching and letting something happen to reframe Nel’s perceived superiority to Sula even as they were friends, and uses Nel’s rationalization of the event after Eva’s accusation to show the depth of how their friendship has affected Nel, despite how Sula has wronged her.
Chicken Little’s death shows the difference of character between Nel and Sula: while Sula was more daring, Nel was not. Nel was amused and with Sula, but in the aftermath of Chicken Little’s death, Nel does not dare to associate herself with the event. Instead, Nel chooses to use Sula’s fault in Chicken Little’s death to paint herself in a superior light, showing how Nel values the control she grew up with and the rift between her and Sula. Nel is taught to belong and to always be conscious of other people, and Sula’s frankness scares her. Nel reacts by pushing Sula away, like the rest of Bottom, but her friendship with Sula makes things more difficult for her. Despite Nel scorning Sula, Nel is of the same eyes and body as Sula, as Eva says.
When Nel visits Eva and she accuses her of taking part in Chicken Little’s death, Eva inverts Nel’s perspective. For her entire life, Nel chose to think of it as “seeing”, passively, but Eva says Nel watched, elevating her to a bystander. Eva knows Nel chose to stand by and do nothing, and her conversation with Nel makes Nel reflect on her guilt for her role in Chicken Little’s death. That guilt is also tied to Sula, who Nel hates at the moment but will never completely forget about. Sula’s death, and the town’s subsequent scorn contrast with Nel’s more complex feelings. Although Sula is a homewrecker in Nel’s eyes and Nel feared Sula’s ability to live free of expectations, Nel also envied Sula because they were friends and because Nel shared all of Sula’s experiences and saw Sula in a more complicated light than the town. Nel’s anger at Eva for criticizing Nel for her role in Chicken Little’s death brings her back to her feelings of anger, envy, and closeness with Sula, only now Nel may never resolve those feelings with Sula. Nel’s guilt drives her to outwardly mimic the hate of the Bottom for Sula, but her friendship with Sula and the terrible things they did created a close bond with Sula that endured after death. Nel and Sula share the same body and mind in their youth, and though their upbringings and arguments drive between them, Nel can never completely shut her out, and Sula’s death means Nel’s feelings remain unresolved.