Page 36: "You ever hit her? Mr. _____ ast.
"Harpo look down at his hands. Naw suh, he say low, embarrass.
"Well, how you spect to make her mind? 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."
Abuse, both physical and mental, is one of the key gender issues in The Color Purple. Celie is bullied, beaten, and abused her entire life by the men who oppress her. The concept of physical abuse calls for an interesting discussion over why it occurs. It's a show of dominance, perhaps, which men (or women) deem necessary to establishing their role in the relationship. Are these men angry and afraid? Or are they just participating in an act that is ingrained through social norms, something learned from previous generations? Celie succumbs to regular beatings with an attitude of indifference, but when Sofia comes along, she calls into question the established norm of abuse.
Sofia, Harpo's wife, represents the strength and independence that Celie lacks. Her refusal to be oppressed by Harpo stuns and confuses both Harpo and Mr. , and it sparks the above conversation. When Harpo goes to Celie for advice, Celie responds by saying "Beat her."Harpo follows this advice, trying to "make her mind," trying to suppress her rebellious vivacity, to no avail. In fact, Harpo himself sustains several injuries. Sofia confronts Celie about telling Harpo to beat her, and as explanation, Celie says, "I say it cause I'm a fool. I say it cause I'm jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I can't." This is where the analogous personalities of Sofia and Celie become clear. Both of them seek independence, both of them hate the oppression forced upon them by the race of men, but only Sofia has the strength to fight it. However, Celie's exposure to strong women like Sofia and Shug gradually coax her out of her self-protective silence.
Another interesting facet of Sofia's battle against men is later in the book when she's beaten by police. She responds, "Hell no" when a white woman asks her to be her maid, and this earns Sofia a brutal beating by a group of policemen. After all the times Harpo tried to beat her, and she fought back and won, Sofia finally receives a true beating. Celie describes, "When I see Sofia, I don't know why she still alive." Sofia's punishment arises mainly out of class and racial tensions, but it adds a violent new chapter to the struggle between the strong women of The Color Purple, and their male counterparts.
Abuse, both physical and mental, is one of the key gender issues in The Color Purple. Celie is bullied, beaten, and abused her entire life by the men who oppress her. The concept of physical abuse calls for an interesting discussion over why it occurs. It's a show of dominance, perhaps, which men (or women) deem necessary to establishing their role in the relationship. Are these men angry and afraid? Or are they just participating in an act that is ingrained through social norms, something learned from previous generations? Celie succumbs to regular beatings with an attitude of indifference, but when Sofia comes along, she calls into question the established norm of abuse.
Sofia, Harpo's wife, represents the strength and independence that Celie lacks. Her refusal to be oppressed by Harpo stuns and confuses both Harpo and Mr. , and it sparks the above conversation. When Harpo goes to Celie for advice, Celie responds by saying "Beat her."Harpo follows this advice, trying to "make her mind," trying to suppress her rebellious vivacity, to no avail. In fact, Harpo himself sustains several injuries. Sofia confronts Celie about telling Harpo to beat her, and as explanation, Celie says, "I say it cause I'm a fool. I say it cause I'm jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I can't." This is where the analogous personalities of Sofia and Celie become clear. Both of them seek independence, both of them hate the oppression forced upon them by the race of men, but only Sofia has the strength to fight it. However, Celie's exposure to strong women like Sofia and Shug gradually coax her out of her self-protective silence.
Another interesting facet of Sofia's battle against men is later in the book when she's beaten by police. She responds, "Hell no" when a white woman asks her to be her maid, and this earns Sofia a brutal beating by a group of policemen. After all the times Harpo tried to beat her, and she fought back and won, Sofia finally receives a true beating. Celie describes, "When I see Sofia, I don't know why she still alive." Sofia's punishment arises mainly out of class and racial tensions, but it adds a violent new chapter to the struggle between the strong women of The Color Purple, and their male counterparts.
I think on of the most challenging concepts for me is the "she had it coming." Even in our own courts, there are people who justify their right to harm another.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of Somalia and of all those women who are treated as if indespensible. Or of the people of the world who seel their girls as a commodity.
Sofia could be a good model for Celie, if Celie weren't so cultured to accept such abuse at the hands of her step father and Mister. Yet even Sofia's strength isn't enough because of all the repercussions she receives for standing up to the white people. Sadly, it takes the beauty of Shug to make Celie find her worth.
I wonder what it takes to help all the women of the world find their worth when so much seems to work against them.
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