"Sweetness"

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Summary:

Toni Morrison’s Sweetness was published by the New Yorker on February 9, 2015 as a prelude to her novel, God Save the Child in which she focuses on main themes involving race, discrimination, and parenthood. The story begins with the line, “It’s not my fault. So you can’t blame me” which is what truly sets up this piece by illustrating the relationship between the mother and daughter that is being introduced. The story begins with what appears to be a light-skinned African American mother who has just given birth to her daughter, Lula Ann. The mother is in disbelief upon meeting her daughter when she notices that her skin color is much darker than her own. Almost immediately, this separation of color causes a great deal of distress and embarrassment for the mother. Morrison then gives us a glimpse into the hardships of African American’s lives by shedding light on the idea of passing and skin privileges. She does so by providing resentful and shameful feelings through the narrator when she says: “Some of you probably think it’s a bad thing to group ourselves according to skin color—the lighter the better.” It is as though the mother desires to stay on the lighter side which is why she tries to hide her daughter in the first place, so that she may receive the same privileges that white people do. The story furthers with the mother determining what to do with her daughter, for she contemplates abandoning her or at one point even killing her, because she is ashamed of how dark her baby is. Morrison illustrates one of the main themes of parenthood through this by connecting to the idea that what you do to children and how you treat them matters. Lula Ann is told to call her mother “Sweetness” rather than mother so that way there would be no confusion as to why someone who appears white had such a dark-skinned child. Throughout the story, it is evident that Sweetness understands that she treated Lula Ann as a burden, but also believes she was forced to do so as a mother and as a member of society in order to protect her from those who would judge them. Sweetness treats Lula Ann as though she is not her daughter, but rather a small African American child she must take care of, for she says “At first I couldn’t see past all that black to know who she was and just plain love her. But I do. I really do. I think she understands now. I think so.” This shows that Sweetness was fearful of her own baby, and how the world would view them and that rather than treating Lula Ann with kindness and open arms she treated her with resentment. She continuously points out her daughter’s flawed features and blackness throughout the story, and how difficult her life became once she had to parent. Morrison then shifts to present day where Sweetness resides in Winston house, a nursing home, while Lula Ann lives in California and has little to no contact with her mother. The story continues when Lula Ann sends a letter to Sweetness explaining that she is getting married and is pregnant. Sweetness is overjoyed with this news but then immediately thinks “I wonder if he is as black as she is. If so, she needn’t worry like I did.” This displays Sweetness’ focus on how her daughter was nothing more than the color of her skin, and that she was unable to focus on nothing more than how she would be perceived by the community. It seems that throughout the story, there is a disconnect between Sweetness and Lula Ann as though they live in different worlds. Sweetness not only discriminates against her own daughter just because she is darker than her, but also fails to recognize the amount of damage she must have done to her which is why Lula Ann has pushed her away. Sweetness places the blame on her daughter, and refused to take any responsibility as a mother for how she treated her. 

Connection:

Throughout the prelude, “Sweetness” one theme that is primarily demonstrated is motherhood and how the actions of the parents have consequences on their children, and that sometimes parents are negligent to understand this. In this story, Morrison challenges the relationship between a mother and daughter by creating two characters that are extremely diverse from one another. Sweetness lives in a world in which she as an African American woman who can pass for being white because of the color of her skin; while her daughter Lula Ann is too dark to do so. Sweetness then discriminates against her own daughter by making her feel as though she is nothing more than her skin color and the disadvantages that way her down because of it. This is displayed when Sweetness says, “I was really upset, even repelled by her black skin when she was born and at first I thought of . . . No. I have to push those memories away—fast. No point. I know I did the best for her under the circumstances.” Within this specific quote, Sweetness is recalling the time which she considered killing Lula Ann simply because she was afraid of how she would be viewed for having a child much darker than she. As a parent, Sweetness is embarrassed and belittles her own daughter about something she has no control over, and yet Sweetness continuously repeats that Lula’s skin is not her fault. Morrison paints Sweetness as a mother who refuses to take responsibility for the way she’s treated Lula, for she believes that any choices she’s made or thoughts she has had were forced out of protection for herself and her daughter. She fails to recognize that what she is doing to her daughter is shameful and discriminating. As presented in most of her stories, Morrison presents another pressing theme of racial judgement and how society forces women to enact on actions that may seem unethical or gruesome. Sweetness believes that she must treat Lula Ann the way that she does in order to protect them both from the racial pressures or questioning of society. Morrison depicts how African American who are light-skinned such as Sweetness pass in order to fit in in a society where they are unwelcome, and that Sweetness is fearful of how she will be treated after giving birth to a daughter who is obviously African American. It is apparent that Sweetness herself has adopted this discriminatory outlook simply by the way she views Lula Ann as someone who is different than she is. This racial tension between whites and African Americans is still prevalent today, and how those who come from a mixed background are compelled to determine where they belong within their community. Morrison often speaks on injustice and living outside the white gaze and how her characters must overcome these circumstances and whether they are going to make their own choices for themselves or for the appeasement of society.

Morrison’s book published in 2015.