Feminism In The Color Purple

During the mid-1930s, gender bigotry ran rampant throughout American society as women became the victims of gender oppression due to male supremacy. In Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple, Celie, Walker’s protagonist, suffered emotional and physical abuse at the hands of both her step-father and husband. The pain and abuse she suffered by the two men in her life crushed her self-worth, leading her to believe she was unworthy of the space she occupied. The pain and sense of worthlessness she felt due to her past influenced her internal fight to reach her self-actualization: the ability to realize her full potential as a powerful, independent, happy, and successful woman – bulletproof to insults her husband and society threw at her. This …show more content…
Throughout the novel, Celie refers to her husband as “Mr.__.” However, with the support and guidance of the female community, Celie was able to officially disentangle herself from both his and society’s hold and expectations on her, enabling her to name him in her letters as “Albert.” By allowing Celie to name and, eventually, befriend her former abuser, Walker is able to show the detrimental effects of gender roles on society. Celie encompasses both male and female characteristics: she sews, but she uses her skill to start an independent business to support herself. Due to the lessons she gains from the female community, she learns that she is worth life, that she can be independent and successful and happy without the presence of a man or anyone else that lacks loyalty. Independence, success, happiness, fortitude – all became qualities Celie gained and achieved by overcoming the horrors of her past, and finally being able to find solidarity, acceptance, and safety through the acknowledgment of the female community. By conquering her past, Celie rises from a hollow casing of herself, to a woman who claims ownership over her life and demands