The Death of Me
Friendship, Fragmented Selfhood, and the Illusion of Morality in Sula
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22153272 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ahsan Pashazade (University of Tehran, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 262-270 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2456-7620 • E-ISSN: 2456-7620 |
| Publisher | AI Publications (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.22161/ijels.103.42 |
| OpenAlex | W4410829278 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 4 |
This paper examines Toni Morrison’s Sula through the lens of fractured subjectivity, intra-racial patriarchy, and the ideological interpellation of black womanhood. Focusing on the relationship between Sula Peace and Nel Wright, the essay argues that Nel’s failure to mourn and her emotional paralysis are rooted not in Sula’s betrayal, but in Nel’s own disavowal of self—what the narrative symbolically frames as her refusal to confront the “gray ball” of suppressed identity. Drawing on theories of melancholia, subaltern speech, and intra-communal sexism, the paper explores how Morrison dismantles binary moral structures and exposes the cultural scripting of black women into roles of silent caretakers. Nel’s internalization of her mother Helene’s performance of middle-class respectability, her submission to Jude’s masculinist needs, and her loss of “me-ness” illustrate the psychological cost of moral conformity. In contrast, Sula’s experimental life—though socially condemned—represents a radical, if flawed, attempt at self-definition. The paper contends that Morrison constructs female friendship not only as an emotional refuge but as a potential site for identity formation and ideological resistance. Ultimately, Sula reveals that healing and autonomy for black women require more than personal virtue—they demand a confrontation with cultural myths, internalized shame, and the collective silence imposed by history, community, and self
Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Friendship · Illusion · Morality · Psychoanalysis · Neuroscience · Philosophy · Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology · South Asian Cinema and Culture · South Asian Studies and Diaspora
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |