The Color Purple

【Abstract】During the 1930s， black women in the United States suffered exceedingly low position. Discrimination from the white and abuse from black men put them under the double oppressions of racialism and sexism. Under the double bully， black women have got used to find love and support from each other. Alice Walkers The Color Purple conveys the idea that women can support and comfort each other in almost all the ways.

【Key words】The Color Purple； women

【作者簡介】梁平，上海政法學院外語學院。

Published in 1982， The Color Purple is the international best-selling novel by Alice Walker， an African American writer. The epistolary tale relates the story of a poor black woman named Celie in her struggle for self-empowerment， sexual freedom， and spiritual growth in rural Georgia in the early twentieth century.

In the 1930s， when Celie is fourteen years old. She has been raped and impregnated by her stepfather who she then believes to be her biological father. Afterward he warns， “You better not never tell nobody but God. Itd kill your mammy.” This chilling preface initiates the journal entries that Celie writes and addresses as letters to God. In the letters， Celie talks about her life and divulges her secret humiliation and pain that she finds nowhere to tell.

Celie gives birth to two children named Adam and Olivia. Both are declared dead but actually given away by her stepfather. He then persuades a widowed farmer Albert to take Celie as his wife. Albert treats Celie just like a slave to look after his children and clean his house. But fortunately， she forges an unusual kinship with her husbands former mistress， the blues singer Shug Avery. Shug encourages Celie to be strong and honor her own desires. Together the two women discover the secret that Albert has hidden all the letters from Celies sister Nettie whom Celie has believed dead. Years of correspondence from Nettie detail her experience as a Christian missionary in West Africa. Through the letters Celie learns that her two children are alive and have been adopted by Netties benefactors， a preacher and his wife. Empowered by the existence of Nettie and her children， and strengthened by Shugs love， Celie finds the courage to leave her abusive husband and opens her own sewing business. After the death of her stepfather， Celie inherits his house which is built on the property of her biological father. There she achieves a satisfying measure of financial security and independence， and even makes a tenuous reconciliation with Albert. At the conclusion of the novel， Nettie returns to America， and Celie is reunited not only with her sister but with her grown son and daughter as well.

The novel has received numerous awards， including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award， and also the nomination for the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1985， as a film directed by Steven Spielberg in 1985， The Color Purple was nominated for eleven Academy Awards. In the film， Oprah Winfrey， then a popular local talk-show host in Chicago， played the strong-willed Sofia， the wife of Celies stepson. In 2004， the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta produced a musical stage version of The Color Purple. The musical opened on Broadway in December 2005. LaChanze， the actress playing the role of Celie， won the Tony Award in 2006 for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.

Tough women in The Color Purple

An African-American woman living in rural Georgia of the United States in the 1930s， Celie is one of those who suffer exceedingly low position in American society. Discrimination from the white and abuse from black men put black women under the double oppressions of racialism and sexism. But fortunately， Celie encounters some tough women in her life. They sympathize with her， help her， love her and encourage her， eventually making her an independent and strong woman.

Kate

Kate is the first woman encourages Celie to fight， though there is little about her in the book. After Celie gets married， Kate， Alberts sister， visits her. It is her who asks Albert to buy his wife some new clothes. Thanks to her， Celie has the first dress made just for her. And when Celie tries to show her gratefulness， she says：“Its all right， Celie. You deserve more than this.” Then， it is her who asks Harpo， Celies stepson， to respect his stepmother and who encourages Celie to fight for herself： “You got to fight them， Celie， I cant do it for you. You got to fight them for yourself.” Although it is still too hard for Celie to have the same courage， it is the first time that she has been defended.

Sophia

Big and strong， Sophia is the first tough woman Celie has ever lived with. When Sophia was a girl， she had to fight. She had to fight her daddy， her brothers， her cousins and uncles， because “a girl aint safe in a family of men”. She has pity on Celie because she just reminds her of her mother who never stood up for herself but say yes to anything her father said. Celie first meet Sophia when Harpo takes her home to ask for his fathers approval of their marriage. Sophia， pregnant， marches into the house like a soldier. When Albert shows disapproval and insults her， Sophia makes a stand against him and says she will take care of herself and the baby all by herself. On the way to pursue her own happiness， Sophia is firmly determined. However， Celie is afraid of struggle. She does not have the courage to fight against her parents or leave home. Her only thought is to be alive， so she has been oppressed by her stepfather.

Harpo was attracted to Sophia largely due to her tough and independent quality. But shortly after they get married， Harpo， who has been long influenced by the patriarchal tradition， starts to feel discontented and tries hard to wrest back control. But he never succeeds. Celie is amazed by Sofias defiant refusal to submit to Harpos attempts to control her. She first tells Harpo that Sofia， though aggressive， loves him， admitting that she herself only obeys her husband out of fear. But later， out of jealousy， she then advises Harpo to beat Sofia. Sofia fights back like a man， however， inflicting serious injuries on Harpo. When Sophia goes straight to confront Celie to ask why， Celie， who has already been feeling guilty about what she has done， apologizes and confides in her about all the abuse she suffers at her husbands hands. She also begins to consider Sofias advice about defending herself against further abuse.

Sophia represents free and independent spirit. She has been fighting for herself all her life. Though deeply in love with Harpo， she is not willing to sacrifice her independence for her marriage. She is the first one who brings Celie courage to fight for her own happiness. But unfortunately， this high-spiritedness proves to be her downfall. When the mayors wife asks Sophia to be her maid， she responds “hell no！” And when the mayor hits her， she hits him back. This time， toughness ends with Sofia jailed and horribly beaten. “They cracked her skull， they crack her ribs. They tear her nose loose on one side. They blind her in one eye. She swole from head to foot. Her tongue the size of my arm， it stick out tween her teef like a piece of rubber. She cant talk. And she just about the color of a eggplant”. In order to guard herself， the tough black woman has fought all the way against her father and brothers， her father-in-law， her husband， and even other black women. But this time， when confronted with white people， she lost. She becomes the mayors wifes maid， followed her around， taking her orders. Ever since then， she has to keep her stubbornness inside. At the bottom of her heart， she has never ceased fighting.

Shug

The glamorous， sultry blues singer Shug Avery， is Alberts mistress， with whom she has three out-of-wedlock children. Albert takes Shug home when she falls terribly ill and Celie， who has been fascinated by her photo， nursed her wholeheartedly. Soon the two women become friends. And when Shug learns that Albert beats Celie when she is away， she decides to stay to protect her. Later， their relationship grows more intimate and escalates to a sexual one. They shares everything with each other and forges a more stable kinship when Shug helps Celie recover the letters from her sister Nettie that Albert has been hiding from her for decades. Having had enough of her husbands abuse， Celie decides to leave Albert along with Shug.

Shug is a controversial character， mostly due to her self-centeredness and self-assertiveness. She disregards social conventions and doesnt care a thing about worldly logic. She only respects her own feelings. She is kind-hearted， brave， aggressive， straightforward， independent and self-reliant， making a living on her own. When she falls in love with Albert at a young age， she have three children with him， cares little about whether they could get married. Yet， in spite of her love for Albert， she despises his weakness. Later， as she grows intimate with Celie， she comes to realize the dark side of Alberts character： he is selfish， both a coward and a bully. In contrast， Celies kindness and innocence gains her more sympathy and love， which makes her decide to take Celie away.

In helping Celie evolve into an independent and assertive woman， Shug plays a much more crucial role than Sophia. Sophia just encourages Celie while Shug creates her. At first， Shug doesnt appear to be the mothering and nurturing kind， yet she nurtures Celie physically， spiritually， emotionally， even sexually. She is a gentle mentor， bringing Celie love and courage， showing her the way to find her real self. In Harpos bar， she shows her gratefulness and respect to Celie before all the people there. She defends Celie before Albert and stands with her when she is bullied. She teaches her to enjoy life and encourages her to honor her own desires and praise God through admiration. When Celie confides her doubt of faith in God， it is Shug who says， “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and dont notice it.” She lives by her own unique religious philosophy， completely independent. Under her influence， Celie gradually becomes confident and strong. In allowing Celie to view Netties letters， Shug supplies her with even more hope and inspiration， letting Celie see that in the end， everything works out for the best. She takes Celie away from Albert and helps her become self-reliant. Her love for Celie is genuine. She doesnt make Celie her maid or manipulate her. When Celie offers to go with her to work and look after her， she says：“You not my maid. I didnt bring you to Memphis to be that. I bright you here to love you and help you get on your feet.” Whats more， unintentionally， she still helps Celie achieve emotional independence. She loves Celie for the virtues in her character. Celie is attracted to her by her free and independent spirit. And she is the only person who makes Celie feel truly loved and cared when Nettie is away. Their relationship features both erotic and spiritual dimensions that not only defy social conventions but also culminate in a more self-affirming vision of existence. When Celie can finally support herself as a seamstress and inherits her stepfathers property， Shug tells her she falls in love with Germaine， a member of her band. The news almost crushes Celie. That seems like Shugs betrayal of Celie， but it helps Celie become emotionally independent. Though heartbroken， she realizes that she is content in her life without Shug and she can still love Shug even if Shug does not love her back. She is no longer dependent on Shug or anybody. Finally， she becomes a woman who relies on herself both materially and emotionally.

Women create women

Celie is unlucky， for all she has endured in her life. She was timid， self-contemptuous， deemed ugly， mocked and raped by her stepfather， bullied by her husband. There has been nothing pleasant in her experience with men. But she is lucky with women. Nettie， Kate， Sophia， Shug， they all love and try to defend her. It is their love and encouragement that create a better Celie， making her a confident and independent woman. The idea that women create women is an important one the book tries to convey.

Alice Walker was born in Eatonton， Georgia， in 1944， living under Jim Crow laws， the state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. When she was young， a white plantation owner said to her that black people had “no need for education”. Her mother， according to Walker， replied “You might have some black children somewhere， but they dont live in this house. Dont you ever come around here again talking about how my children dont need to learn how to read and write！” She enrolled Alice in first grade when the girl was four years old. However， when Walker grew up， she still could not get rid of the shadow of racial discrimination. When she married Melvyn Rosenman Leventhal， a Jewishcivil rights lawyer in 1967 and relocated to Jackson， Mississippi， becoming “the first legally married inter-racial couple in Mississippi”， they were harassed and threatened by whites. She herself was faced with many struggles throughout her life. A childhood accident blinded her in one eye， but she still went on to become valedictorian of her local school， and attend Spelman College and Sarah Lawrence College on scholarships. So， physical deformity plus the influence of racism and sexism made her life one struggle after another. But encouraged by her mother who was tough， she became tough too. In her writing， black women always have to fight against both whites and black men， so they have to be tough. And they can only count on themselves to become that. Therefore， in The Color Purple， black women always band together. There is little conflict between them. They are used to help each other. Celie sacrifices herself to protect Nettie from the her stepfathers harassmen. Shug loves and protects Celie from Alberts bully. Sophias sisters help her when her marriage with Harpo falls apart. Though Mary Agnes， Harpos second wife used to have a fight with Sophia， she tries to help her when Sophia is in prison. And Sophia looks after her children when she is away with Celie and Shug. Under the double bully of racism and sexism， black women have got used to find love and support from each other. Encouraged by Sophia， Celie first has the idea of defiance. When Alberts father expresses disapproval of his sons keeping Shug in his house， Celie secretly spits into the glass of water she is serving him. That is the beginning of Celies struggle， which is just like a seed finally having the chance of budding. And fortunately， her meet with Shug helps the seed grow， making her gradually accept the idea of fighting for her own wellbeing. After a dinner， Shug declares her and Celies decision to go away. When Albert tries to stop them， Celie stands up to talk back to him for the first time and shocks everybody. She says：“You a lowdown dog is whats wrong……Its time to leave you and enter into the Creation. And your dead body just the welcome mat I need……I got children…..Being brought up in Africa. Good schools， lots of fresh air and exercise. Turning out a heap better than the fools you didnt even try to raise.” When Harpo protests and says “Hold on”， Celie continues：“Oh， hold on hell……If you hadnt tried to rule over Sophia the white folks never would have caught her. ” Years ago， she didnt even have the guts to disobey Albert， not to say defending another woman in front of men. On the night Sophia knocked Mary Agnes down， when Sophia said life didnt stop just because you left home， Celie spoke to herself that her life stopped when she left home. Now， encouraged by Shug and Netties letters， she finally has the courage to leave her husband. In this chapter， Alice Walker reveals a scene in which patriarchy is challenged. After Grady says “a woman cant git a man if people talk”， Shug and Celie giggle， then May Agnes and Sophia join in， and in the end all the women star to laugh. Influenced by the women around， Harpos second wife Mary Agnes also decides to leave home and pursue a life of her own. Both Albert and Harpo can do nothing with the women determined to leave them. In their house， sexism is challenged by the mutual support and solidarity of women. Such support and love between women is much recognized and extolled in Walkers book.

However， what is unique with The Color Purple is that it conveys the idea that women can support and comfort each other not only materially， emotionally and spiritually， but also sexually. The relationship between Celie and Shug is complicated， which is more than sisterhood. They are friends， sisters， families and lovers. It is Shug who first teaches Celie to enjoy sex. Celie never enjoys the sex with her husband. Men cant bring her sexual pleasure as well as happiness. It is still a woman who guides her to better sexual experience. And whats more important is that such a sexual relationship is filled with true love： Me and Shug sound asleep. Her back to me， my arms round her waist. What it like？ Little like sleeping with mama， only I cant hardly remember sleeping with her. Little like sleeping with Nettie， only sleeping with Nettie never feel this good. It warm and cushiony……； Us lay with our arms round each other. Sometimes Shug read the paper out loud. The book has been criticized as a novel containing graphic homosexuality and was ever banned in several schools across the United States. But it has to be admitted that compared with heterosexuality， homosexuality sees more chance of true love. Walker treats the female homosexual as natural and free just as true love. And to a large extent， it is true love that helps women create women.