randomness when applied to non-Jews, all seem to throw into question notions of God and benevolent humanity. Different people reach different conclusions about the meaning of Auschwitz; certainly the characters in this book have little or no use for familiar formulations of religious belief or the Judeo-Christian tradition. All that is left is shock, horror, and guilt, with all their debilitating consequences. In the midst of all Sophie’s revelations and Nathan’s tirades, Stingo is the touchstone, the one by whom we come to measure the impact of their situation.

Styron clearly wants us to think of this novel as autobiographical. The central character, like Styron, is a Southerner who attended Duke University. He contemplates a book about Nat Turner, the leader of a slave rebellion in Virginia before the Civil War, a book which Styron wrote. Relationships in the book are complicated by the narrator’s sexual urges: Sophie is a stunningly attractive woman; Stingo falls in love with her and longs for her physically. His efforts to help the situation are always complicated by his own emotional and sexual needs. His Southernness is also an issue; Nathan, in his tirades, attacks Stingo for his background and its association with slavery and the oppression of black people.

In a real sense, Sophie and Stingo have a great deal in common. Each faces an overwhelming tragedy—Auschwitz for Sophie, the Sophie-Nathan relationship for Stingo—and finds all sorts of personal needs and problems coming between them and any heroic behavior. Both are strongly sexual people who find the need for sexual expression a response to difficult situations, with strongly ambivalent results. Sophie finds herself drawn sexually to a German industrialist who uses Jewish slave labor in his factories; she tries to seduce a Nazi military man at Auschwitz in an effort to save the life of her son. Stingo finds that his desire for Sophie comes between him and any clearheaded response to Nathan; when he finally gets Sophie away from Nathan, he can only think of marrying her as a solution to her problems. Yet Sophie finally returns to Nathan and the death she has long sought; Stingo finds the whole experience a maturing introduction to the real world, one from which he can go on to success as a novelist and to the maturity needed to write this book.

Why do Sophie and Stingo respond differently to tragedy? The answer is unclear, unless one argues that the tragedy facing Stingo is not so great as that facing Sophie. After all, Stingo has not had to decide on the spur of the moment which of two children will live and which will die, and then see the doomed child led away while it looks back longingly at its life-giving, death-dealing mother. That may be the answer, and yet, perhaps, there is a real difference in terms of depth of character. One of the themes in this book is the old world/new world distinction; yet, it may be that one usable part of Stingo’s Southern past is some reservoir of resolve that sustains him in the face of everything. If this is the case, then the suggestion might be that the experience of slavery, of Southern white inhumanity to black people, has yielded some benefit in terms of the ability to survive, to keep on living, in the face of total and absolute inhumanity.

Whatever the result, this is a strong, powerful, courageous book. It is a testimony to art’s ability to record inhumanity, and in that process make inhumanity bearable. Even as music sustains Sophie over and over in the face of inhumanity, so this book may sustain us in the face of our own experience of inhumanity. For that, we must be grateful to Styron for his courage in writing Sophie’s Choice. In the title, finally, may be the key to the work, for Sophie’s actions are her choices; and so long as we have choice—real choices—and accept them, there may be hope for humanity.

*New York City

*New York City. Great cosmopolitan city in which Stingo meets Sophie. The city has long drawn young people from the hinterland, and Stingo is no exception. Certain that the bright lights of the big city will make New York the perfect place for his writing career to develop, he takes a job with a major publishing firm, only to discover that he does not fit into the corporate culture there. Unwilling to return to his southern home, he uses a tainted legacy of money from a slave-owning ancestor to support himself while he writes his first book. Thus he meets Sophie and becomes entangled in her tormented relationship with Nathan Landau, the mentally ill scion of a wealthy Jewish family.

The city’s cosmopolitan and democratic setting functions as a powerful contrast to the story of bigotry and tyranny from her past that Sophie reveals to young Stingo. At first Stingo knows only that Sophie is a European refugee, a survivor of the horrors of the Holocaust who suffered terribly and nearly died in a Nazi concentration camp. Gradually—as though peeling an onion—Sophie reveals more and more of the specific horrors she endured, as well as her own ambiguous role in those horrors—a role that has left her with strong feelings of guilt. At the same time, the disturbing nature of Nathan’s mental illness is revealed. At length the pressure in their tormented relationship drives them apart, and Stingo tries to save Sophie, but at the end the story returns full circle and Sophie goes back to New York, to Nathan and her destruction.

*Auschwitz

*Auschwitz. Infamous Nazi concentration camp in southern Poland in which Sophie was a prisoner during World War II. The name of Auschwitz has become almost synonymous with the Holocaust, a symbol of the enormity of Adolf Hitler’s obsession with exterminating Europe’s Jewish population. However, for Sophie, a Polish Roman Catholic, Auschwitz is a more personal horror of death and deprivation, combined with the ambiguity of having had special skills that afforded her a privileged position as a secretary to the camp commandant, Rudolf Höss. Although she was still a prisoner, she was not subjected to the brutalities that worked her fellow prisoners to death and had sufficient food to support life. After the war, however, she carries the constant burden of thinking that she purchased her survival with her complicity in Nazi atrocities. Worst of all, she bears the crushing guilt of knowing that she purchased her own survival and that of her son with the death of her daughter—the choice to which the novel’s title alludes.

After Höss was replaced as camp commandant, Sophie returned to the general secretarial pool of the camp, which still provided some protection from the worst brutalities of the camp. However, as the extermination program progressed, Sophie was moved to another part of the prison complex, Birkenau, where she was subjected to destructive labor and contracted diseases that permanently damaged her health. She lay within days of death by starvation when the camp was liberated by the Soviet army.

*Cracow

*Cracow (KRAH-kow). Polish town in which Sophie grew up as the daughter of a respected professor and wife of her father’s protégé. When the Germans invaded Poland, her father and husband were among the educated men rounded up and ultimately executed. However, Sophie’s family life was not so genteel as she later tries to portray it, for her father was a virulent anti-Semite who actually praised the Nazis as having a “solution” to Poland’s Jewish “problem.”

*Warsaw

*Warsaw. Poland’s capital, where Sophie found refuge after the German invasion. Although she associated with a number of members of the Polish resistance, she remained unable to commit herself to their cause. At the time she claimed that she could not endanger her children; afterward, however, she wondered if it was not simple cowardice that held her back. When she attempted to smuggle food to her dying mother, she was captured and sent to Auschwitz.

*Washington, D.C

*Washington, D.C. U.S. capital city, where Sophie makes her final revelation to Stingo. After the last violent breakup with Nathan, Stingo takes Sophie on a train south, intending to set her up as his wife on a farm he inherited in Virginia. Along the way they stop over in the nation’s capital, intending to visit national landmarks. Amid the monuments to democracy, Sophie reveals the horrible “choice” she was forced make at Auschwitz: to save one of her children by condemning the other to death.

*Virginia Tidewater

*Virginia Tidewater. Coastal region of Virginia from which Stingo comes. At first Stingo is only vaguely uncomfortable about the American South’s history of slavery. Although he finds such crude supporters of racism as lynch mobs and Mississippi’s Senator Bilbo disgusting, he has no qualms about accepting an inheritance from an ancestor who made his money by selling a slave before the Civil War. However, as Stingo’s acquaintance with Sophie progresses, he comes to see the common threads of contempt for the fundamental humanity of the other which binds American southern slavery and the slave labor of the concentration camps, and he resolves to write a book about Nat Turner, a famous leader of a Virginia slave rebellion.

World War II

The Nazi regime's system of human extermination during World War II (1941–1945) became widely known after the liberation of the concentration camps. American newsreels revealed the horrific details in theaters across the country. By the summer of 1947, the public was gradually becoming aware of the atrocities. Thirty years later, the narrator still reflects on these horrific events, delves into scholarship on the Third Reich, and tries to comprehend it as a glaring example of pure evil.

Stingo has the chance to hear from an eyewitness, which abruptly heightens his historical awareness. This newfound understanding of events, in which he played only a minor military role, prompts him to reassess his own cultural heritage.

Literary Allusion

A literary allusion is a reference to another piece of literature. It situates the current work within a broader literary context, drawing meaning from the works it references. This novel is rich with such allusions. For instance, it references John Donne and Dante’s Inferno, specifically the lovers Paolo and Francesca. It also mentions James Joyce, comparing this novel to his Ulysses. Readers familiar with these other works can deepen their understanding of the novel and its layered meanings. Often, Styron appears self-congratulatory, positioning his work among the greats of literature. Toward the novel's conclusion, the narrator extols his favorite sentence about love, calling the idea “the property of God,” and includes himself among a list of prophets such as Jesus and Buddha. While some allusions enrich the narrative, Styron's ego undermines the impact of others.

Juxtaposition

The stories in Sophie’s Choice are not told in chronological order. Sometimes, meaning is derived from the proximity of different story elements. George Steiner’s concept of “time relation” emphasizes the importance of juxtaposition. For example, on the day Sophie arrives at Auschwitz, Stingo is busy gaining weight by overeating bananas to pass a Marine entrance exam, unaware of Auschwitz. Another instance occurs when Sophie examines the photo album of Emmi Höss, the commandant’s daughter. Sophie smells burning flesh from the crematoria; Emmi shuts the window against the odor and then talks about the heated swimming pool at Dachau. Placing the daughter’s experiences next to the extermination of the Jews accentuates the disconnection required for Nazis to execute the Final Solution.

As is typical, Styron arranges his novel by altering the chronological order to highlight the most shocking and dramatic events. These events gradually unfold, leading up to Sophie's "final choice" regarding the fate of her children at Auschwitz. The older Stingo reminisces about his younger self starting out in 1947. The younger Stingo acts as a confidant to Sophie’s unfolding narrative, which continually evolves as she delves deeper into the complex truths of her nature and her survival during the Holocaust. Consequently, the reader navigates through layers of narratives, beginning with the older Stingo, moving to the younger Stingo, and finally reaching Sophie’s revelations. This structure of withholding information heightens the need for its eventual revelation, creating a tension that demands a forceful and truthful expression, akin to a return of the repressed. This deliberate dramatic strategy mirrors the narrative techniques found in Gothic novels and mysteries.

Styron's intricate narrative technique entangles everyone and everything in various power dynamics and hidden mysteries. Elements such as sex, death, language, and even Nazism are interwoven in a meticulously crafted structure, making them seem deeply and inseparably connected. Styron’s storytelling methods also involve the reader in a journey of self-discovery, suggesting a broader, darker design that reflects the master-slave dynamics inherent in Western society, of which we are all a part.

The Holocaust, like racial slavery, remains a monumental and complex issue. Some authors argue that attempting to write about it may inadvertently cheapen or "romanticize" the subject. Styron's indirect approach—he never fully immerses us in the concentration camps—implies that he is more focused on the Holocaust's effects rather than on recreating its horrors. Every character in the novel is impacted by it, which might be the most comprehensive and profound topic to start an in-depth discussion about the book.

1. Is there an irreconcilable conflict between the redemptive endings of Styron's novels and the bleak, despairing environments they depict? What are your thoughts on Stingo's "recovery" at the novel's conclusion?

2. What is your interpretation of Dr. Jemand von Niemand in Sophie's Choice? Styron implies that he forces Sophie to make an unimaginable decision—to choose which of her children to save and which to condemn to death—in an attempt to commit such a grievous sin that his disbelief in God will implode, restoring his sense of religious vision. He plays God to rekindle his own faith. What role does religion play here? Do religious values hold any significance in such a context?

3. Do the characters in Sophie's Choice possess free will, or are their "choices" dictated by the historical circumstances they inhabit? Could Sophie, for example, have come from the American South with her values and attitudes? Are the characters so ensnared by the destinies of their cultures and histories that genuine choices are impossible? Is there a specific choice that you believe best embodies the novel's title?

4. Styron draws a comparison between the American South and Poland. How alike do you think these two regions are? Is he trying to intertwine them in the spirit of E. M. Forster's famous advice, "Only connect"? Do you believe the connection is established? If so, what are its implications?

5. Is Sophie's decision to commit suicide inevitable?

6. If Styron's perspective on human nature is so pessimistic and he believes that evil is perpetually present in the world, how can we justify taking any political or social stance to improve humanity's general condition? Styron himself is a political liberal and supports numerous liberal causes. Does this seem contradictory to you? Or are there moments in Sophie's Choice where direct and personal social actions clearly make a difference?

7. Based on Styron's analysis, do you believe the Holocaust represents the inevitable result of a master-slave dynamic deeply embedded in Western culture? Are there notable distinctions between the Polish, German, and American perspectives that could challenge this idea? Does Nazism appear to be the inevitable consequence of trends in Western thought and culture? If so, what implications does this have for the future?

8. Stingo clearly embarks on a personal journey to understand both the horrors of the world and the darkness within himself. Can these two elements be connected in any way? Is his role as a man comparable to Hess, Nathan, and other characters in the novel? If so, is Sophie's role as a woman a universal truth, or is she shaped by her specific historical context? Does the dynamic between men and women in the novel exemplify the master-slave concept?

9. The novel ends with Stingo's declaration that "someday I will understand Auschwitz." This is followed by the older Stingo's belief that "someday I will write about Sophie's life and death, and thereby help to demonstrate how absolute evil is never extinguished from the world." Why is there a distinction between these two viewpoints? Does the older Stingo possess knowledge that the younger Stingo does not? If so, what is it?

10. Why do you think both Sophie and Stingo are so captivated by Nathan? How does his character contribute to the tragedy of the novel? Or is he more of a catalyst than an active participant? Why do you think Styron chose to make him Jewish? Is Styron commenting on the historical accuracy of Polish anti-Semitism?

11. Consider some of the minor characters. What role does Leslie Lapidus play in the scope and vision of the novel? Why is her sharp and obscene language emphasized? Why are there so many deaths from various sources in the book? And why is there so much sexual activity and fantasizing? Does this connect to the Holocaust in any way, or is it merely Stingo's obsession amplified by the cultural norms of 1947?

The Nazi Holocaust in the twentieth century has been so extensively documented and discussed that it is challenging to comprehend the profound and enduring effects of such a horrific historical event. For Styron, this seems a natural extension of his interest in the individual self and the systems of oppression and destruction that threaten to annihilate it. The enduring evil of the Holocaust still haunts Western society today, and the waves of disbelief and horror that accompany it—despite or perhaps because of the irrefutable evidence of its occurrence—continue to captivate the imaginations of writers, survivors, and others.

Styron is also deeply interested in the experience of growing up in the more insulated and isolated, sometimes "innocent" world of the America he once knew. Such isolation can lead to a tragic misunderstanding of how the Western world operates. The novel not only delves into the effects of the Holocaust on the Polish survivor Sophie Zawistowska, but also on the American perspective of the aspiring writer Stingo, a semi-autobiographical character based on Styron's own youth. Stingo's understanding of what has happened to Sophie, his acknowledgment of his own involvement in her survival, guilt, and self-destruction, and his growing awareness of the violent and tragic aspects of life in the twentieth century, mirrors in Styron's novel America's own recognition of the tragedy of human existence—a reality many Americans would prefer to ignore. Stingo's South, Sophie's Poland, and Nathan's New York, where most of the novel is set in 1947, all share a degree of guilt and complicity with the Holocaust itself.

1940s: Although suicide is frequently a consequence of emotional or mental disorders, it is prosecuted as a crime by the U.S. legal system.

Today: Suicide bombers sacrifice their lives to make political statements globally, while terminally ill individuals pursue physician-assisted suicide to alleviate their suffering.

1940s: Following World War II, high-ranking Nazi officers are prosecuted in Nuremberg, Germany, with many being executed by hanging.

Today: The U.S. Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations continues to uncover individuals in the United States guilty of Nazi war crimes. These individuals are either deported or stripped of their citizenship. Between 1979 and 2002, 71 individuals lost their citizenship and 57 were deported.

1940s: Research into drugs aims to assist people dealing with mental illness. Drugs such as Benzedrine are sometimes illegally used to treat depression.

Today: Risperdal, the foremost medication for treating schizophrenia and prescribed to over 10 million people globally, is discovered to have potentially fatal side effects.

The second paragraph of Styron's novel echoes the beginning of Melville's Moby Dick (1851) with the phrase, "Call me Stingo." By doing this, Styron highlights the confessional nature of his novel and his writing as a whole. This approach steers the reader toward a psychological journey and quest, a theme that drives many classic American novels such as Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! (1936), Hawthorne's The Blithedale Romance (1852), and Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925).

Sophie's Choice closely mirrors Styron's personal experiences as an author. Stingo's obsession with the death of his young friend, Maria Hunt, echoes Styron's own feelings when he wrote about the ill-fated Peyton Loftis in Lie Down in Darkness (1951).

Likewise, Stingo's ability to move to New York is made possible by money from the sale of a slave, Artiste, back in his family's past in Virginia. His preoccupation with Artiste and the ensuing involvement with the institution of slavery reflect Styron's own engagement in writing The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967).

Sophie's Choice was adapted into a successful movie directed by Alan Pakula in 1982. Meryl Streep, portraying the tragic Sophie, earned the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1983.

Sophie’s Choice was adapted into a movie featuring Meryl Streep as Sophie and Kevin Kline as Nathan. The film can be found on a 1992 video release and a 1998 DVD.

Sources

Aldridge, John W., “Styron’s Heavy Freight,” in Harper’s, September 1979, pp. 95–98.

DeMott, Benjamin, “Styron’s Survivor: An Honest Witness,” in Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 244, July 1979, pp. 77–79.

Review of Sophie’s Choice, in New Yorker, Vol. 55, June 18, 1979, pp. 109–10.

“Riddle of a Violent Century,” in Time, June 11, 1979, p. 86.

Styron, William, Sophie’s Choice, Random House, 1992.

Further Reading

Asscher-Pinkof, Clara, Star Children, Wayne State University Press, 1946.

Clara Asscher-Pinkof, a Dutch Jewish educator and author, taught in schools created for Jewish children in Amsterdam during World War II. In Star Children, she shares first-person fictional short stories inspired by her students’ experiences in detention centers, transit camps, and concentration camps like Bergen-Belsen.

Becker, Jurek, Bronstein’s Children, University of Chicago Press, 1999.

This novel narrates the story of an eighteen-year-old German Jew who stumbles upon his father and two other men assaulting an elderly man, a former Nazi guard who had tortured them three decades earlier. The book delves into the complex dynamics between victim and oppressor, revealing how cruelty and bigotry lingered long after World War II ended.

Blum, Jenna, Those Who Saved Us, Harcourt, 2004.

Jenna Blum, who collaborated with Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation, offers an unsentimental perspective on the Holocaust. The novel alternates between the contemporary narrative of a history professor in Minneapolis gathering oral histories from World War II German and Jewish survivors, and her elderly mother’s tale of being a young woman in Weimar, Germany, near the Buchenwald concentration camp.