Sula summary

We’re now introduced to Sula’s grandmother, Eva Peace, a towering figure of the Bottom. Her husband BoyBoy had deserted her years before, after which she made a harrowing decision – to leave her three children in the care of a neighbor, all in order to ensure their survival. 18 months later, she returns – but with only one leg. Rumors begin to spread fast – did Eva sacrifice her leg for insurance money? The possibility of such an act cements Eva’s position as someone willing to do anything to help others in need. She even turns her house into a haven for those with nowhere else to go.

We then meet two of her children, Hannah and Plum. Whereas Eva projects her independence with her strength of character, Hannah asserts hers with short-lived romantic affairs with various men of the Bottom. The story of Plum, however, is one of dependence – in this case, heroin. After returning from fighting in the war, he is a broken man, and heavily dependent on his opiate addiction. Once full of life, he is now a husk of a person – a shadow of the son Eva once knew. 

The Bottom, reeling from tragedy, is struck by a sweltering heatwave. This unfortunately leads to another tragedy. While preparing food in her yard, Hannah lights a small fire. Suddenly, her dress ignites, and her body is quickly engulfed in flames. Eva, witnessing the event, tries to reach her daughter by jumping out a ground-floor window – her leap falls short, however, and she herself sustains injuries. Other members of the community attempt to put out the flames with water – but this creates steam that injures Hannah further. Her final moments are marked by intense suffering and the silence of those around her as they realize her fate is sealed. 

Witnessing her mother’s death is a pivotal moment for Sula. Her silent observation while others attempt to help her mother casts a long shadow over her relationship with the rest of the community. Sula was already known as someone who saw herself as an outsider, but her inaction here made her seem almost cruelly detached. Now she was someone who not only questioned social norms, but also stood apart from basic human responses to pain – even when the one suffering was her own mother.

Three years pass, and Sula engages in a number of fleeting affairs. Although she doesn’t yet know it, she seeks physical connection as a way to escape the isolation that her life as a pariah involves. Then, Ajax – one of her lovers – takes a special interest in her. Unlike his other lovers, whom Ajax finds boring, Sula is unpredictable. Their passionate affair comes to an abrupt end, however, when – for the first time in her life – Sula experiences a desire for monogamy and domesticity. Ajax senses this and abandons the relationship, leaving Sula absolutely devastated.

It isn’t long before Sula falls seriously ill. Nel, sensing that the end may be near, decides to visit her former best friend. She finally plucks up the courage to ask the question that has been on her mind for three years – why? Why did Sula betray her and sleep with Jude? A conversation on morality and obligation ensues. Sula rejects Nel’s belief that Black women can’t afford to be alone or independent. She also asserts that every woman she knows is slowly dying, but that she is going to go out with a bang. Finally, they reach the crux of the conversation when Sula admits that she slept with Jude simply to fill a space in her head. She had no desire to betray Nel, and no love for Jude – she simply wanted to fill the void in her psyche that she felt in that moment.