Eva, in Toni Morrison's "Sula" is a strong, determined black woman and single mother of three who recognized the necessity of creating a new life out of thin air. Along with her ability to rationalize her way out of anything, honesty, femininity, strength, and what can only be seen as an utter lack or regret blend to create an extremely colorful masterpiece of a woman whom society saw as being nothing more than "black". Throughout the novel, Eva's character makes readers feel uncomfortable with her hateful, greedy and unbecoming honesty because it is exactly those things that the readers so carefully tuck behind the facade of their "ideal" selves. She uses her unlikely sexuality not for her own advancement but instead for her own enjoyment, further establishing herself as a powerful character. Eva takes the unattractive, unspoken truths of what actually is normal and acts on them, causing readers to dislike her character initially and walk away from the book feeling better about themselves.
             Though Eva's presence in the book is not permanent, her impression most definitely is. Eva does one drastic thing after another to capture and keep the reader's attention through the use of shock, disgust and disbelief. First and foremost, the reader is led to believe that she voluntarily lost her leg in order to ensure that she would be able to provide for herself and her family by way of the insurance money collected. Second, she shockingly murdered her beloved son: "She rolled a bit of newspaper into a tight stick... lit it and threw it onto the bed where the kerosene-soaked Plum lay in snug delight" (Morrison 47). Completely unexpected, and as far as the reader could see, completely unwarranted, this cast a new light on what had previously been a woman who acted drastically out of necessity. However, halfway redeeming herself, when she saw Hannah burning, Eva flung herself ...