Dear dtnl42,
The expression "Sophie's Choice" derives from the novel of that title
written by William Styron and published in 1979. The fame of the novel
grew in 1982, when it was made into a film starring Meryl Streep and
Kevin Kline. Meryl Streep won the Academy Award for Best Actress for
her role as Sophie.
Amazon: _Sophie's Choice_ by William Styron
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679736379/104-1676949-1698343?v=glance
Amazon: _Sophie's Choice_ DVD
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0784011710/104-1676949-1698343?v=glance
Later, in 1998, William Styron's book was named by Modern Library (a
division of Random House publishers) as one of the 100 best novels of
the 20th century. To be precise, it was listed by the board in 96th
place.
Random House: Modern Library 100 Best Novels
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html
The novel, set in Brooklyn in 1947, revolves around the friendship
between its narrator and a Holocaust survivor named Sophie
Zawistowska, who is Polish and Catholic. From the narrator's
observations of Sophie and through her own reminiscences, a
disquieting history emerges. The choice to which the title refers is a
traumatic one that Sophie is forced to make at the Auschwitz
concentration camp. Let me quote from a critique by Stephanie Beranek:
"In the final pages of the novel she is given the ultimatum by
a Nazi soldier,
You may keep one of your children. The other one will
have to go. Which one will you keep? (p. 562)
This decision is possibly the most difficult one a parent would
ever have to make, and tormented Sophie for the rest of her
short life.
Suppose I had chosen Jan to go . . . to go to
the left instead of Eva. Would that have changed
anything?" (p. 572)
This question remained unanswered to Sophie, who was never given
the opportunity to grieve properly for her loss."
Stephanie Beranek: "Sophie's Choice: Human nature and societal pressure"
http://www.english-literature.org/essays/styron.html
The phrase "Sophie's Choice" is today applied in situations where a
parent must face the prospect of losing one of two children. In the
literal sense, such cases arise rarely in the annals of medicine, but
the expression can be applied metaphorically to child-custody battles
and other painful dilemmas.
John L. Allen Jr.: "Conjoined Twins Give Birth to Moral and Legal Debate"
http://www.parkridgecenter.org/Page473.html
Anne Kass: "Don't Give Children A Sophie's Choice"
http://www.alllaw.com/articles/family/child_custody/article12.asp
Thank you for asking this interesting question. If you should find my
answer inaccurate or incomplete in any way, please post a
clarification so that I have a chance to meet your needs before you
assign a rating.
Regards,
leapinglizard
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