Color Purple Women and Oppression

Color Purple

Women and Oppression in the Color Purple

In Alice Walker's novel the Color Purple, Sofia stated, "White folks is a miracle of affliction" (103). The black families in the novel felt oppressed by the white establishment. However, the black men were equally as oppressive towards their wives and daughters. The black women were not only devalued by white people, but by their own men. This can be seen clearly in the lives of two of the main characters. Celie, the wife of Albert and Harpo's stepmother, and Sofia, Harpo's wife, underwent a long and painful struggle for personal autonomy.

Celie took her mother's place as her father's sexual partner at the age of fourteen when her mother became too ill to submit to his desires. She gave birth to two children before she became unable to conceive. Her father Alfonso took her two babies from her and disposed of them without her knowledge or permission. Celie did not know for many years whether her children were alive or dead. She assumed that he had taken her baby girl and "Kilt it out there in the woods" (12), but she was pretty sure that he had sold the boy "to a man an his wife over Monticello" (13). Celie was victimized by her father. She had no rights over her own body, her own time or even over her own biological children.

Celie's life did not improve after her father offered her to a man named Albert, whom she called Mr. ____. On the day she moved into his house, his oldest son, a twelve-year-old boy, "pick up a rock and laid my head open" (21). It wasn't long until Albert began to beat Celie "like he beat the children" (30). He not only abused Celie, but he maintained an open sexual relationship with a woman named Shug Avery, and he attempted to seduce Celie's sister Nettie.

Celie's relationship with her father was sordid, and her relationship with her husband was degrading and abusive. Alfonso and Albert both saw Celie as an object to be used. In the beginning when Alfonso was raping Celie, he choked her and said, "You better shut up and git used to it" (11). He viewed Celie as a tool to use for his own purposes. Alfonso and Albert shared similar sentiments about women. When Harpo asked his father why he beat Celie, his answer was, "All women good for…" (30). He did not finish the sentence, but his meaning was clear; women were only good for sexual gratification. Celie spent her early years being belittled, used and beaten by the men who should have protected her. In spite of frequent admonitions to fight back, Celie refused to run the risk of further punishment.

Sofia, the woman Harpo brought home as his wife, also spent her life being oppressed by the men around her. However, Sofia was completely different from Celie, especially when it came to fighting. Sofia told Celie, "All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and my uncles. A girl child ain't safe in a family of men" (46).

Sofia is brazen and outspoken and has little in common with the often-beaten and intimidated Celie. Celie says, "I like Sofia, but she don't act like me at all. If she talking when Harpo and Mr. ____ come in the room, she keep right on" (42). This is in complete opposition to the fearful respect that Celie has learned to show to the men in her life. Celie is also resentful of the fact that Sofia looks on her in pity because she obeys Albert's commands without question. Harpo felt that Sofia needed to be more deferential towards him, and he asked Celie for advice. Celie gave him the only advice she knew: she told Harpo to beat her. Rather than admiring Sofia for her strength of personality, she suggested that Harpo try to make her mind the way Mr. ____ taught Celie herself to obey.

Celie was envious of Sofia's defiance. Out of jealousy, she sided with the men in their persecution of Sofia. When Sofia asked her why she told Harpo to hit her, she admitted, "I say it cause I'm jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I can't…fight" (46).

Rather than allowing herself to be beaten, Sofia fought back whenever Harpo hit her. Their relationship turned violent, and eventually she left and moved into her sister's home. Unfortunately, soon afterwards Sofia had an encounter with the Mayor's wife, who asked her to be her maid. When Sofia answered in the negative, she was badly beaten, imprisoned, and ended up working for the Mayor's wife anyway. It took many years for her to regain even a fraction of her earlier courage.