For me, a metaphor is a tangible image used to represent a concept that is intangible or difficult to put into words. It is a way to cut through the confines of the English language to convey a complex idea directly to the reader. For example, it would be hard to understand the scene in which Eva immolates her own son without Morrison’s metaphor of the “wet light.”
He felt twilight. Now there seemed to be some kind of wet light traveling over his legs and stomach with a deeply attractive smell. It wound itself – this wet light – all about him, splashing and running into his skin. He opened his eyes and saw what he imagined was the great wing of an eagle pouring a wet lightness over him. Some kind of baptism, some kind of blessing, he thought.
For Eva, the burning of Plum is an act of mercy. She is the mother eagle, spreading her wings over her children and protecting them from harm. In this way, the kerosene over Plum’s body was like her wing over his eyes. The fire, a baptism. Cleansed of his sins and his pain, Plum is released from the agonies that he had to endure since returning home. It is not the only time we see fire in Sula. Hannah accidentally burns herself alive while setting the yard fire. In a hurry, the mother eagle reaches out to cover her daughter with her wings, but her flames have spread too quickly. Fire is tricky that way. For Plum it is a blessing, but when it gets out of control, it can consume everything around it. Through Morrison’s metaphor of fire, of “the wet light,” we understand a mother’s anguish and a son’s wish to crawl back inside her until he no longer hurts.