Changing Gender Roles in The Color Purple

     The Color Purple , written in 1982, is considered to be one of Alice Walker’s greatest works, and one of the first novels that began a movement of female African American writers. The novel, set during the depression in the rural south, is a story on the power of transformation, as seen through the letters Celie writes to God and her sister Nettie. Celie, the narrator of the story, is incestuously raped by her stepfather, sold into “marriage” at a young age, beaten by her husband, denied knowledge of her sister’s whereabouts, and overall experienced the darker, merciless side of life. The Color Purple , though, is a story of transformation, of the will of one woman against all the men in her life, of the strength faith and friends can give one another, and finally of the happiness one finds in being content with what one has.

     Of the many themes and motifs in The Color Purple , one of the most interesting is the concept of gender roles. Although there are stereotypical elements for both men and women, it is within the multi-dimensional main characters that Walker destroys traditional roles and replaces them with more complex concepts. The abusive husband, Albert, who eventually has a change of heart, or his son’s inability to “beat” his wife into submission, thus eventually taking up the housework himself while his wife worked in the field – these are just a few examples of the transforming and untraditional gender roles displayed in the book.

     One way to view the unconventional gender roles is through the actions and statements of Mr. ______, also known as Albert. While Celie was young, Albert married her, looking for a new wife to take care of the kids and keep the house up. He knew she was ugly but needed someone to do all the heavy lifting. The marriage was not of love, but of necessity, with Albert treating her as property. Celie was forced to clean and cook, work the fields, have sexual intercourse, and be generally mistreated by everyone in Albert’s family. It was not until Mr. ____ brought home his first real love, the singer Shug Avery, who was sick, having nowhere to go. Celie asks why Albert brought her home; He states that “Nobody fights for Shug … And a little water come to his eyes” (50). It was only after Celie decided to leave him for good, and follow Shug to Memphis, did he truly begin to transform into a different man. While Celie was gone, Albert becomes very sick, unable to care for himself. It was not until he sent the final batch of letters from Nettie to Celie did his spirits change. Sofia said that “meanness kill” (231) and it was that act of finally letting go of his malevolent side that he becomes a different man. He changed so much that when Celie moved back into town, they became friends and confidants. In a telling bit of both forgiveness and love, Celie reminds Albert that “if you know your heart sorry … that mean it not quite as spoilt as you think” (289).

     While Albert’s transformation was slow, taking his entire lifetime to show emotion and humanity, it was different for his son and daughter-in-law. From the onset of Harpo and Sofia’s marriage we see constant challenges to gender roles. Harpo falls in love, impregnates, and marries Sofia. Upon first meeting his father Sofia sets the stage for who is going to be the boss in the relationship. After listening to insult after insult from Harpo’s father, Sofia simply stands up and says “when you free, me and the baby be waiting” (33) and from there Sofia sets off down the road, back to her sister’s. There is no way that Harpo was going to control this women; he will not have the same relationship that his father and Celie have, which in all ways, is a blessing. Harpo attempts to take control, telling his father that Sofia “never do what I say” (37). Albert responds simply with ““Wives is like children. You have to let ‘em know who got the upper hand. Nothing can do that better than a good sound beating” (37). In one of the only parts of humor in The Color Purple, we see Harpo the next day all bruised up, “his face a mess of bruises” (38), obviously at the hands of Sofia. In the end, Harpo and Sofia resigned themselves to the roles they enjoyed – Harpo stayed at home, taking care of the house and his Roadhouse, while Sofia worked at Celie‘s dry goods store. The only real friction they had in the relationship was Harpo’s, and society’s, preconceived concepts of what is a woman and how they should act.

     The final example in gender roles is that of Celie’s. From the very beginning of her childhood, she was treated as a second class citizen. Her mother, who was sick, was unable to protect her from her father’s rapes, of which two children were produced. The father made it clear “you better not never tell nobody buy God. It’d kill your mammy” (1), an act of silencing her from letting anyone know. Celie was told the children were killed, even though they were given to a black Pastor in town. As Celie nears her teen years, her father sells her off to be a wife of Albert. His selling points were that “She ugly … But she ain’t no stranger to hard work. And she clean. And God done fixed her” (9). Her new husband’s treatment of her was very much similar to that of her father’s, although now she was a wife being abused and sexually molested. Up until this point she was simply acting and behaving the way women were supposed to: being obedient to their husbands. It was not until she met both Sofia and Shug Avery that she saw women in a different light - Sofia, as the strong willed fighter, and Shug as the sensual, independent minded women, who Celie eventually falls in love with. While washing Shug’s body, Celie says she feels like she is praying (51) and Shug made sure she would not leave Albert until she knew he would not even think of beating Celie again. Both women finally gave Celie solid examples of gender differences that were both positive and uplifting. When Celie finally leaves Albert and eventually gets her mother’s home, she is a completely changed woman. She has her beloved sister back, and her children, her own house and business, surrounded by friends and family, and she puts it quite simply – “I don’t think us feel old at all. And us so happy. Matter of fact, I think this the youngest us ever felt” (295).

     It is easy to understand why this novel was controversial during its time, and why today it still pops up on banned and restricted lists throughout the country. Alice Walker takes a raw, unabashed look at the black rural south and the treatment of women during that time. Her language is intense, her scenes riveting, and her story absolutely engaging. I can easily say that this is one of my favorite reads in the past couple of years.