Sophie

Stingo writes down Sophie's haunting yet interesting past of hardships. He focuses mainly on getting every detail of her story from growing up in Cracow to migrating to Brooklyn. The novel constantly alternates between Sophie's stories and the present, as Stingo's relationship with his neighbors further develops. In this chapter, Stingo learns a little bit about how Sophie was raised and her previous life, one is which was full of suffering and setbacks. She had lived in a nice house with her parents and family, and at a very young age was introduced to education and the importance of learning as her father was a professor. She married young and had a beautiful relationship with a man named Kazik. They had had such amazing plans in their future, one in which involved traveling and exploring. However, this was cut short by the war that shook up their country and their lives.

With the beginning of the war, Sophie's life changed forever. Her husband and her father were both sent to concentration camps because of their involvement with a local university. On New Year's Day, Sophie's father and her husband were shot to death in the camps, ruining her life forever as her beloveds were taken from her. Trying to cope with the loss of her loved ones, Sophie eventually moved to Brooklyn where she thought she was "safe". With barely any money to spare, she moved into Yetta Zimmerman's pink house and found a job at a nearby chiropractic center, where she was paid a decent salary. Her boss became one of her closest companions as she was able to confide in him, creating a unique but special bond.

One moment in her life completely changed her, making her feel as scummy and even more exposed as she had during her time in the camps. While riding the subway to her English classes at Brooklyn University, Sophie was raped so to say by someone when the lights went out in the subway car. She was completely mortified and didn't know how to react, feeling as though she was not safe in this new country. For a good amount of time after, Sophie began to become nauseous, dizzy, and deathly ill as her energy seemed to escape her. With her secret at the back of her mind, Sophie had no idea where her sudden change in health had originated from. Then with the help of Mr. Blackstone, her chiropractic boss, he told Sophie that he would diagnose the problem and help her out in any way he could.

Another momentous occasion in the chapter is the events leading up to her first introduction to Nathan. While still feeling ill, Sophie took the subway to the Brooklyn College library to find a poem that her English teacher, Mr. Youngstein had read to her in one of their classes. One specific verse had intrigued her, and she wanted to read more about this poet. Upon arriving at the front desk, the librarian, Sholom Weiss was completely rude and insensitive when she had asked about a particular poet. Mr. Weiss had yelled at Sophie, being ridiculous and arrogant beyond belief. Sophie eventually fainted as the event had shaken her up, and woke to a man yelling at Mr. Weiss for his cruel behavior. This man was Nathan, and he stood up for her, seeing the whole situation that occured. From that moment on, they would become friends, best friends and in the end lovers.