Gender Roles in the Novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker - Essay Example

Gender Roles in the novel “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker Introduction Alice Walker’s The Color Purple defied all norms that were prevalent during its time of publication. This book was what one calls has breaking the rules and setting new benchmarks in history. It is still considered to be one of the best works in literature and as Alice Walker’s greatest work. Many are of the opinion that the female writers of the African –American origin flourished only after the arrival of this book. The story of The Color Purple defines the power of women seeking transformation, expressed to the audience through the form of letters written by Celie to the God and by her sister, Nellie to her. The entire story of the book is told through the narration of Celie, the protagonist, who undergoes several troubles during her early childhood before being sold by the name of marriage. Struggling through her dark past, where she is violently raped by her perverted stepfather, she goes through another doomed phase in her life. She gets severely beaten up every day by her husband, who also refuses to inform Celie about the letters from her sister Nettie. Still, Celie goes through all these torments and comes out as a winner at the end of the story. The book is a story about the progress of the will of a woman to counter all the struggles she faces in life, a display of power of friendship and faith in motivating a person and, delivering the message of happiness that one gets by being self-satisfied. Theme The Color Purple, during its time of release, created a flurry of arguments about the themes written about in the story. One of the major themes that drew many of the critics’ attention was the theme of gender roles. Although, Walker had established the default characteristics of men and women in the book, there was this subtle element of versatility present in each and every character of the book that completely abolishes any notions of traditional qualities that were displayed through these roles. Some of the examples that could be given for this change include the change of thought process in the minds of Albert, Celie’s husband and in the submissive role played by his brother, who is unable to bring his wife under control and as a result, gets to work under his wife. Albert The representation of unconventional treatment of the gender can be first viewed through the role of Mr.__________, as introduced by Celie and commonly known to everyone as Albert. Albert, having lost his first wife, looks out for a second wife to assist him and his children. Having known to everyone has an unpopular girl, Celie gets sold to Albert by her stepfather. Albert does not treat her as a wife and did not marry her out of true love. Albert makes her to clean the house, take care of the children and have sexual intercourse whenever he needs it. It could be clearly said that Albert never treated her as a woman but as worthless property, deservedly doing the work she does. Walker has portrayed these conventional aspects of genders during that time. But, what transforms a change in his character is the introduction of Shug Avery, a popular singer, severely sick and wanted dearly by Albert. When Albert brings her home, there is a great transformation in the character of Albert and, under the presence of Shug, the will power of Celie gets increased as she decides to move along with Shug, leaving Albert alone. It is at this point that there is a change in the attitude of Albert. The character of a male chauvinist gets completely dissolved when Albert decides to send across the hidden letters of Nettie, back to her sister Celie. There is a complete transformation in the character of Albert from a tormenting human being to good natured person as he is forgiven by Celie, as they become good friends. Harpo and Sofia Although Walker uses a slow, more progressive path to describe the transformation of the role in the character of Albert, she hits the money right from the beginning in the characters of Albert’s brother Harpo and his wife, Sofia. Harpo, who falls in love with Sofia, faces a delicate situation where he has no other option but to marry Sofia, thanks to her pregnant situation. Unable to get out of the wrangle he had wrapped upon himself, Harpo marries her and right form the onset, the author clearly indicates that who will be the boss among the two. The character of Sofia is so unconventionally portrayed, that irrespective of the pinching remarks made by her on her husband, one gets to become surprised with the comical subtlety involved in it. Harpo is defined as a more subdued man, unable to stand up either against his father or his wife. The stubbornness of Sofia and the bossy arrogance of hers is clearly portrayed when she says “when you free, me and the baby be waiting” to her husband. (Walker, 1982) The traditional relationships that husband and wife have in a marriage, a relationship that is exemplified by Albert and his father in this story, a relationship that totally rues the lives of the wives, is never played by Harpo with his wife Sofia. Harpo gets some advice from his brother who tells him to take the upper hand against her by beating her severely. But, the comical subtlety of the author comes to the fore when Harpo returns the next day with his face all beaten up by his wife. The notion of woman during that time is totally axed out by the role essayed by Sofia. She perplexes all the readers with the attitude of hers and surprises to the core in her interactions with her husband. In the end, Harpo and Sofia get adjusted to these roles itself, clearly stating the author’s intention for breaking the norms of the perspectives on gender roles. Celie The final and the most important transformation in the roles of gender is the character played by Celie. Coming from a very low class of the society, Celie gets treated very badly and gets raped by her stepfather who threatens to kill her sick and ailing mother if she lets this information out to anyone but God. Celie, who gets restricted by the tangles of love towards her mother, follows her stepfather’s rules and in the end, gives birth to two children. With the pressure of her stepfather constantly ruling her and with the thought that her two children were killed by her stepfather torments her every day. The author brings out the entire character of Celie to the readers through Celie’s father’s words, “She ugly … But she ain’t no stranger to hard work. And she clean. And God done fixed her”. (Walker, 1982) Having been entitled as such by her father, Celie gets sold to Albert who in every instance displays her father’s attitude in treating her. Having been sexually abused right through her younger days, her only soul mate is her sister whom she is really fond off. Her love for her sister showed the then status of women trying to find a soul mate who could soothe their feelings in times of desperation. The author’s description of such a character never really changed from the lines of those characters that were explained in a similar manner by previous authors. But, what brings a change in Celie’s role is the introduction of characters called Shug Avery and Sofia. She sees the spirit to fight and stand against tyranny through the role of Sofia and buys in the thought process of an independent woman through the role of Shug Avery. The contemporary perception of love gets broken when the open minded Shrug falls in love with Avery – a concept that has never been exposed to the readers of that era. It was through the trust shown by Shug to take care of Celie from getting beaten by Albert, Celie begins to feel like a human being. The gender differences shown by both these roles had a significant influence on the will and temper of Celie, bringing in her a sense of positivity and uplift. One could see a completely transformed woman in the form of Celie when she decides to shrug off her husband. Another contrasting feature exposed by the author is the enlivening of the youthful life of Celie during her old age when she gets to meet her sister and the two children, whom she thought to have been killed by her father. Conclusion The struggle of women and the gender based slavery that existed during the early times of the twentieth century have been clearly illustrated by the author. Walker astutely brings about mercurial changes in everyday of Celie’s life through the impacts of other roles described in the story. The gradual separation of Celie from her husband is evidently explained, concluding in the liberation of her to lead an independent life. Celie exemplifies the author’s ideas about freedom of women and the presence of pride in every woman. The ability to express happiness and the ability to think independently are the most sought after ideals of every woman and Walker successfully achieves it through the depiction of Celie. Works Cited Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. UK: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1982. Print Read More