Name: Ojaswita Bhushan
Register no.: 1313279
Class: 2nd Year PSEng
TOPIC: FEMINISM AS
PORTRAYED IN THE NOVEL “THE COLOR PURPLE”
“I am not afraid of my feminity and I am not afraid of my
sexuality”. This quote by Goldie Hawn clearly depicts the strength of feminine
power. It shows that women if independent can do wonders which even the men
cannot. Western civilization may be said to pervasively patriarchal. These
societies are generally controlled by men and revolve around their expectations
and their demands. What one needs to do is to break free from such repression
and stand up for themselves. Such feminism is explored in the life of Celie and
the other female characters in the novel “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker.
Alice Walker’s novel is an example of a woman’s novel as it
explores the tradition of women’s narration, the basic themes and the voice.
The Color Purple is a representation of sexism and gender bias. The novel
appeals all the female voices to break free from the oppression that is based
on such gender differences. This idea is presented in the novel through black
feminism. The views and ideas presented in the novel are descriptive of notions
of freedom through female characters. The ideas include freedom to break free
from constraining patriarchy, freedom to fight against male domination, freedom
of financial aptitude, freedom to gain education, freedom by engaging in
sisterhood and freedom to choose one’s own sexuality.
The female characters in Walker’s novel aim at total freedom
and equality between the two genders all aspects including economical, social,
political and sexual aspects. This should be applicable in both domestic and
public areas. These are brought out in the form of black feminism by the
various actions and events carried out by female characters. The main goal and
the most important one that the female characters want to achieve by acting out
their views is to deconstruct the patriarchal ideology that obstructs women
from developing and expressing themselves.
“Women work, he say.
What? she say.
Women work. I’m a man.
You’re a trifling nigger, she say. You get that bucket and bring it back full.
He cut his eye at me. Stumble out. I hear him mutter something to Mr.________ sitting on the porch. Mr.___________ call his sister. She stay out on the porch talking a little while, then she come back in, shaking.
Got to go, Celie, she say.
She so mad tears be flying every which way while she pack.” (Walker, The Color Purple, 12.28-35)
What? she say.
Women work. I’m a man.
You’re a trifling nigger, she say. You get that bucket and bring it back full.
He cut his eye at me. Stumble out. I hear him mutter something to Mr.________ sitting on the porch. Mr.___________ call his sister. She stay out on the porch talking a little while, then she come back in, shaking.
Got to go, Celie, she say.
She so mad tears be flying every which way while she pack.” (Walker, The Color Purple, 12.28-35)
For Mr._____ women are servants meant to satisfy men. While
women work hard to please the men, men enjoy themselves and relax. Women
themselves are taught, in the process being socialized, to internalize the
reigning patriarchal ideology and so are conditioned to derogate their own sex
and to cooperate in their own subordination. This way they do not even realize
that what they do to “please” men is just another way of them being oppressed.
In the novel, many women band together and try to stand up for themselves. But
the men always suppress them in some way or the other.
“He beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church.
I may have got somethin in my eye but I didn’t wink. I don’t even look at mens.
That’s the truth. I look at women, tho, cause I’m not scared of them. Maybe
cause my mama cuss me you think I kept mad at her. But I ain’t. I felt sorry
for mama. Trying to believe his story kilt her.” (Walker, The Color Purple, 5.1)
The above quote clearly shows how women are oppressed and
ill-treated. For Celie, me are kind of mean and they possess such satanic
characteristics that women do not. She prefers the company of women than that
of men because they are inertly good.
Therefore, in the novel, most women either have to fight
against men or they have to accept their domination because they are generally
helpless. Being a black woman is gives rise to double inequality. They face
suppression in both aspects of social stature, i.e. colour/origin and gender.
This is the exact thing that happens in the novel. Only the women who are
financially independent are secured and are able to stand up for themselves
without any severe consequences. Only when women can come together in a
collaboration to stand up for themselves can they support each other and
improve their situation. Patriarchy needs to be challenged and only then will
there be equality.
REFERENCES
Abrahams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 10th ed.
Delhi: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Color Purple." Shmoop.com . Shmoop University,
Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 28 Aug. 2014.
"The Color Purple: Themes and Motifs." SparkNotes.
SparkNotes. Web. 28 Aug. 2014(accessed). http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/purple/themes.html
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