Color Purple Relationships

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple is a heart-wrenching novel that portrays a young girl, Celie, as a child wife living in the South struggling with the ability and knowledge of standing up for herself, mental and physical abuse, and the pain of not being loved and cared for. This story takes place during the early 20th Century in rural Georgia. During this time period, women were told only to serve others, to fulfill the interests of men rather than their own, given limited opportunities, and seen as inferior to men. Celie dealt with all of these struggles. For a period of her life, she had no one but God to consult with, but luckily several people enter into her life who love and support her. Throughout the book, many relationships are formed
and some ended; however, the outcome reveals everyone as being gratified with their lives for the first time in a while. A new friendship can indicate a fresh onset to life and has the ability to aid in healing the pain of the past, as shown in Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple.
Mr.____ has a sister, Kate, who is the first person to come along that actually has a real conversation with Celie and helps her stand up against Mr.____ and his abuse.
Kate arrives to the house complimenting Celie about her housekeeping skills, child-raising abilities, and providing the family with satisfying food daily. Her first deed towards Celie is when she takes her out shopping, feeling Celie deserves new clothes. She is not only buying her a new dress; she is buying Celie a new sense of self-esteem and self-worth. Celie feels like maybe she does deserve the dress after all and is valued as a person by others. Afterward, Kate declares Harpo, Mr.____’s son, to never command Celie to carry in all of the water considering he is a mature young man who should help around the house. She is standing up for Celie and makes Celie realize that she does not have to do every devoir for the men because they are equally, if not more, capable of doing some of these tasks that she is expected to do. Harpo discloses Kate’s commands to his father, Mr.____ then mandates that Kate must leave. In the midst of the tears and swiftly packing her belongings, Kate advises Celie, “You got to fight them, Celie. I can't do it for you. You got to fight them for yourself” (Walker 21). Kate motivates Celie to stand up against Mr.____ and Harpo and expresses that she cares about Celie, wishing she can one day stand up for herself and acquire the respect she deserves. Kate is the first to make Celie
realize the way she is being treated by the men is unfair and should not be tolerated. The second woman to befriend Celie is Sofia, who encourages Celie to not appease to the men and their demanding ways. Sofia is married to Harpo, Mr.____’s son, and makes it known to Harpo that she refuses to have her freedoms taken away by him. In the beginning of their relationship, Celie is envious of Sofia’s strong character so she advises Harpo to beat Sofia if she does not mind him, and he follows her advice. For this, Sofia confronts Celie and belittles her about the fact that she is weak and submissive, challenging her to become a stronger individual. Fortunately, over time the two women come to support each other and share personal stories with each other. During hardships in Sofia and Harpo’s marriage, Sofia becomes more like Celie in the sense that she is degraded and is not herself anymore. With this happening to Sofia, Celie realizes that she, nor any other woman, can thrive by being submissive; therefore, this encourages Celie to strive to be an overall stronger person. Celie’s change in character is shown towards the end of the book while everyone is having dinner at Odessa, Sofia’s sister’s, house. Shug Avery announces to everyone that she and Celie are moving to Memphis, Tennessee, consequently, Mr.____ argues and declares that Celie is not moving away from home no matter what. For the first time ever, Celie becomes unfaltering and stands up for herself and curses Mr.____ and everything he has done to abuse her. Sofia is proud of Celie's actions and is “so surprise[d] to hear [her]speak up, she [did not] chew for ten minutes” (Walker 200). Sofia defends Celie in her arguments against him and comes to appreciate her for the fact that she is finally able to stand up for herself. Sofia is an important influence towards Celie because she equips her with vitality, confidence, and always supports her to be tenacious and able to defend herself in all situations. Shug Avery, a widely known singer in the South, stays at Celie and Mr.____’s house for a while and is the first person to show Celie the feeling of truly being loved and cared about. At first, Shug is sick, selfish, and arrogant; Shug mistreats Celie because she has the opinion that Celie must serve her. Despite this, they grow closer over time and come to have an endless love and support for each other. For the first time since Nettie had left, Celie experiences the feeling of being loved and loving someone. There are copious amounts of events showing how much care and love Shug has for Celie. In one letter Celie wrote to Nettie, she explains how Shug would wake up early in the morning, go to the market to purchase fresh produce, and prepare food for the two of them. This simple act of everyday life shows that Shug is working hard to try to provide Celie with the care, nourishment, and love that she needs. Typically in a husband and wife relationship, the wife is the person who is responsible for buying groceries and cooking for her husband as a way to show that she loves and cares for him. Shug does these things for her because she cherishes her well-being. In another instance, Celie offers to help Shug by pressing her clothes and fixing her hair. Shug refuses Celie’s generosity by explaining, “You not my maid. I didn't bring you to Memphis to be that. I brought you here to love you and help you get on your feet” (Walker 211). Shug is not only showing Celie how much she loves and honors her through action, but she is also admitting it through words. Shug had the opportunity to take Celie to Memphis to be her personal assistant; however, she chooses to encourage her to become independent and stable in her adult life. Shug fills the emptiness in Celie’s heart that longs for family closeness by approaching her with warmth, generosity, and kindness. Shug is mother, sister, friend and lover regarding Celie; as she affirms "Us each other's peoples now” (Walker 183). Celie’s sister, Nettie, is a missionary in Africa for many years, but maintained a supportive and loving relationship with Celie even though they had minimal contact. Shug Avery helps Celie discover dozens of letters written by Nettie in Africa to her sister over the years. These letters contain information about the family she is with, her travels to Africa, her experiences, and life lessons she has to offer Celie. The hidden letters that Mr.____ kept a secret serve as a bridge to their love for one another. Even though they are not physically together, they are emotionally and spiritually together. The letters are the only method of communication between the two for many years; however, they remain close to each other's hearts. Nettie is an important person in Celie’s life because she provides her with the motivation to become independent and a smarter person. Nettie’s letters not only contain valuable lessons and stories, but they provide Celie with hope that she needs to get through the many struggles in her everyday life. In one letter, Nettie wrote, “Oh, Celie, there are colored people in the world who want us to know! Want us to grow and see the light! They are not all mean like Pa and Albert, or beaten down like Ma was. Corrine and Samuel have a wonderful marriage. Their only sorrow in the beginning was that they could not have children” (Walker 132). Nettie learns and shares that she and Celie’s experiences with cruelty and maltreatment are not the way of the world. Making Celie aware of this gives her hope that her situations can be changed and there are more positive things to look forward to in life. For the duration of their exchange of letters, Celie and Nettie exhibit a sisterly love and endless support that distance could not sabotage. The Color Purple has shown through Celie’s life story the importance of friendship and how it can be a new beginning for life and help dismiss from mind the pain and struggles of the past.
Celie dealt with many difficulties throughout her life, such as being mentally and sexually abused, being told to fulfill the interests of men rather than her own, given limited opportunities, and seen as inferior to men. Several people throughout the novel enter into Celie's life and provide her with the love and support she desperately needs. These people stand up for Celie, make her aware that how she is being treated does not have to be permitted, and continuously provide strength, confidence, and encouragement. In addition, they bestow kindness, generosity, love, support, and hope that fills the void in her heart that longs for acceptance and love. With everyone's willingness to help her, Celie is capable of becoming an overall stronger person who is able to defend themselves in all situations and feel accepted at the same time. The Color Purple validates the importance of friendship and its ability to alter someone's life
beneficially.