I was surprised and a bit disappointed by Toni Morrison's portrayal of women in Song of Solomon. I expected Morrison to write female characters that were well-developed and flawed, without condemning them for their flaws like many writers seem to do. I was frustrated by her placing of Pilate, the "strong" woman, on a pedestal. In Song of Solomon, Ruth and Hagar are both seen as selfish in their possessive love of Milkman, and are implied to be rather stupid for following along with society's expectations of them, rather than directly defying them like Pilate does. While Pilate is admirable for her actions, she fills the stereotypical strong female role and doesn't seem to have any major character flaws like Ruth or Hagar- she is a role model, but not human. At the same time, neither are Ruth or Hagar; they are overly flawed, written as a reflection of society, without any redeeming or "good" qualities to create the balance that makes up a good, well-written character.
However, I think Morrison did an incredible job of discussing the relationships between males and females in Song of Solomon.
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