Like Sophie’s choice: Each alternative is tough on Sereno

In William Styron’s novel Sophie’s Choice, and in the award-winning film (starring Meryl Streep) based on that book, a mother is forced to decide which of her children will die during the war – in this case, World War II, when the Nazis moved to apply their final solution to the Jews.

This gripping piece of literature has had a profound impact on language and idioms. In English today, “Sophie’s choice” is applied to a choice where every alternative has significant negative consequences.