The following version of this short story was used to create the guide: Morrison, Toni. Sweetness. The New Yorker, 2015.

In Toni Morrison's short story, Sweetness, first person narrator, Sweetness, insists that it is not her fault she and her daughter, Lula Ann, have always had a fraught relationship. As soon as Lula Ann was born, Sweetness knew something was not right. Both she and her husband, Louis, were light-skinned African Americans. However, their baby was so dark she scared Sweetness. Ashamed and embarrassed, Sweetness tried smothering the child shortly after she was born. She abruptly stopped herself, unable to go through with it. Then she considered leaving the baby at an orphanage or on the steps of a church. Disinterested in how these decisions might reflect upon her, she decided to take the baby home.

She explains to the reader that her shocked response was perfectly legitimate. Almost everyone in Sweetness's family has been able to pass for white. Her grandmother married a white man, and stopped talking to the rest of her family. Her mother was so light she was granted social privileges other Black citizens were not afforded. Though Sweetness acknowledges that these stories may sound negative to some people, passing for white was a mode of self preservation. Sweetness was always hearing terrible stories of the things whites would do to Black people.

Therefore, when she felt ashamed of her daughter, she knew it was because of fear. Even holding the baby against her skin alarmed and repelled Sweetness. When she brought her home, she stopped breastfeeding, and turned to the bottle.

Then, when Louis came home and saw the baby for the first time, he cursed in shock and anger. He and Sweetness began fighting constantly. Sweetness swore she had never been with another man, and Lula Ann's coloring must have come from his side of the family. Louis did not believe her, and left shortly thereafter.

In the aftermath of Louis’s abandonment, Sweetness then had to find a new, more affordable apartment. The search proved nearly impossible, as no one wanted to rent to Black people. Finally, a landlord named Mr. Leigh, agreed to rent them an apartment, charging them more than the listing price.

Over the years, Sweetness struggled to support Lula Ann. Eventually, with the help of welfare, unsolicited cash installments from Louis, and the wages from her night job, Sweetness’s circumstances leveled. Despite their nominal stability, Sweetness remained cold and detached from Lula Ann. She believed her strictness was for Lula Ann's own good. However, as soon as Lula Ann was old enough, she moved out and left for California. Sweetness sometimes feels guilty for how she treated her, and hopes her daughter knows she loves her.

Years later, Sweetness is 63, and living in a cheap, urban nursing home. Recently she received a letter from Lula Ann announcing her pregnancy. Sweetness assumes that Lula Ann thinks motherhood will be a blissful dream. She hopes parenting will finally awaken Lula Ann to the true cruelties of the world.