Depictions of Women in the Color of Purple - Essay Example

Depictions of Women in "The Color of Purple" As Gayle Austin argues in her Introduction to Feminist Theories for Dramatic Criticism, a feminist approach to anything means paying attention to women (Austin 297). Based on this statement, one could argue that gynecologists, given their attention to women, must all be feminists. Taken out of context, statements such as Austin’s often diminish the value of feminist theory and provide grounds for misunderstandings. Austin's Feminist Theories for Dramatic Criticism give an overview, an outline of other author's works, and a feeling of her own, is a key text. In this overview, she talks about the several political aspects of feminism that can be linked to theatre and other elements of feminist inquiry. Referring to Case's Feminism and Theatre and especially to Jill Dolan's The Feminist Spectator as Critic, Austin discusses the radical, cultural and materialist stages or divisions that fall within feminist analysis. Liberal feminism founded on universal values emphasizes women's equality with men; Cultural or radical feminism stresses the difference from and superiority to men and advocates the spirit of this within a 'female aesthetic'. While both 'radical' and 'cultural' have been used to explain this stage, Austin opts for the word 'radical' based on its political connotations. Materialist feminism contradicts the necessity and universalism of radical feminism by underscoring 'the function of class and experience in creating the oppression of women'. This latter approach maintains that women's experiences must be understood within their specific historical, economic and political context (Case 38). Just as, Austin invokes caution in 'making categories extremely powerful' when looking at the key work of feminist analysis, care is equally essential to these liberal, materialist or cultural divisions. This paper analyzes the author’s depiction of the female characters in the story using Gayle Rubin’s “exchange of women” theory, as expressed in Gayle Austin’s Feminist Theories for Dramatic Criticism. The Color Purple is a book by Alice Walker about racism, slavery, abuse and womanism. The story is based on the experiences of the author. Alice Walker’s description of a southern black woman in the story The Color Purple is extremely powerful. This is because Walker applies a variety of literary devices to the story, giving the story more impact. She uses symbolism, applies her tone as an author, and uses a certain dialect for her characters. The presence of symbolism in the book is not as glaring to the eye of the reader as one may think (Walker 264). Gayle Rubin (2011) referred to marriage as the traffic or exchange of women where women are taken in battle, sent as tribute, given in marriage, exchanged for favors, traded, purchased, and sold. Throughout time, women have always been an essential aspect of literature. They have inspired several writers, whether novelists, dramatists, essayists or poets. Unfortunately, these often illustrated men as the superior gender, and women a passive object that could not thrive on its own and could do nothing for itself. In literature, women could only survive through the lives, minds and eyes of men but rarely for themselves. In Le deuxieme sexe, Simone de Beauvoir states that women are differentiated and defined in relation to man; the woman is the other and he is the subject. Beautiful and submissive, they could never think for themselves. They were obliged to take a secondary place in the men's world, not because of their capacity but rather because of imposed social and cultural forces. This false and biased representation denied women their identity and even worse their dignity. The history of patriarchy shows a variety of injustices suffered by women. They represented, in a way, the disadvantaged group that had often been subject to male authority through male egocentrism and had been prevented from full development as human beings. Sexism, under patriarchy, was the rule that ruled gender relationships for men were in charge of everything, they could make sure women remained oppressed, denying them equal authority. Prevented from enjoying their fundamental liberties, women thus were entirely excluded from the economic, social and a political life. Fortunately, literature has a massive potential to transform and modify received views. Those who fought for the freedom of women comprehended it. Writing with the purpose of transforming people‘s pessimistic opinions about women, of attaining gender equality and denouncing the suffering inflicted on women became the primary objective for feminist activists and writers. They purposed to create a world, at least in the literature, where women would be able to live as individuals (Hooks 223). Unfortunately in American history, this feminist struggle has been classified, for quite a while, as the battle of white, heterosexual, middle-class, and knowledgeable women. On the contrary, a look at the early times of American history shows the massive role played by African American women writers in the fight for gender equality. Alice Walker‘s epistolary novel, is one of the greatest literary works that vividly portray the injustices of African-American women from sexism, racism and patriarchy. The book does not only illustrate but even goes beyond that goal. In fact, Alice Walker‘s primary intent from writing this story is not only to give voice to black women but also to give them with a path to follow in order to liberate and have their freedom. Walker shows us the progress of her main character, Celie, from being a sexually abused child to a docile wife and ultimately to a liberated woman. In The Color Purple, the feeling of hope even in distress is one of the most characteristics that move the reader. Though the main character, Celie, suffers deeply from the impacts of racism and sexism, she does not give up and ultimately ends up triumphant and victorious (Walker 183). Celie a black, poor and uneducated woman frees herself from the perils of patriarchy and sexism, so the question asked is how that is possible? What is the path that Celie follows in order to liberate? In her life, Celie interacts with other women around her, a sisterhood connection then develops among them. Can we say that this relationship is the key factor in Celie’s liberation process? In addition, Celie writes her emotions, ideas and thoughts, she expresses her feelings through letters; so what does writing present for her? Does writing play a part in her liberation process? At the end of the book, she becomes a fully free woman; she frees herself spiritually, physically and economically. How does sisterhood and writing assist Celie in her liberation process? The Color Purple may be based on real experiences, but it would be an extremely strong and delightful way to teach social and moral issues as we observe Celie. Since the story is about a woman fighting to attain her freedom, certain fundamental and socialist, feminist theories, such as Gayle Rubin’s “trafficking of women” theory, seem to be more appropriate to approach this story, as they can help to understand the reasons behind a female character‘s behavior and development. In addition, the protagonist of the story expresses her thoughts, emotions and ideas through writing letters. She is an omniscient narrator; the audience is, therefore, a strong personal witness of her intellectual development. In this case, a cognitive approach seems to be necessary to understand the psychological growth of the main character, which is extremely essential in her liberation process. Therefore, by using these approaches, answers shall be provided to the fundamental questions raised previously. In The Color Purple, sisterhood and women bonding play a vital role in Celie‘s liberation process. Ranging from her daughter in law, Sofia, to Shug, her husband‘s mistress and to her sister Nettie, she rebuilds her life and frees herself both spiritually, physically and emotionally with the help of these women. Female bonds exist in several forms: some are sisterly or motherly, mentor and student, others sexual, and some are just friendships. Sofia states that her fighting ability comes from her relationships with her sisters. Nettie‘s relationship with Celie steers her through several years of staying in the unfamiliar African culture. Most important, Celie‘s ties to Shug bring about Celie‘s gradual liberation and her achievement of a sense of self. In her work, Walker always stresses the necessity of sisterhood in black women‘s liberation. She sees the potential for empowerment of black women if they form a community of sisters that can alter the modern, false definitions of woman and man. Smith finds that the unifying relationship among black women is through their love, friendships, and their shared suffering that they collectively gain the courage to differentiate themselves from the oppression of their past and develop a free and objective existence for those they love and themselves (Smith 186). The Color Purple is in the epistolary form, common in the early 18th and 19th centuries especially with the Gothic writers, and Walker has been credited with the resurrection of this form of the novel. The English epistolary novel is a style that applies letters as the main mode of narration. In using this style, Walker is free to create different relationships with the reader, as the characters seem to be able to speak freely, without the author getting in the way, and has the freedom to change the style and approach in presenting the different agendas, locations, actions and motivations of the characters, therefore, adding depth to the novel. Walker also develops personal communication and different perspectives. Her sense of anonymity is an established approach used in the epistolary novel and it demonstrates Walker's literary history and knowledge, therefore, while appearing remarkably straightforward, it is in fact, a complex and effective writing technique. Referring to feminist theory, we observe that Walker, through Celie, is praising the idea of womanism. A word that initially appeared in In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose (2011), in which Walker attributed the word's beginning to the black folk style of mothers to female children, 'You acting womanish,' that is, like a woman … usually referring to excessive, audacious, willful behavior or courageous. Wanting to know more and to a greater extent than is regarded as 'good' for one, a womanist is also a woman who loves other women sexually or non-sexually. Prefers and appreciates women's culture and strength, committed to wholeness and survival of entire people, female and male. Not a separatist, womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender. Therefore, we can observe this womanist development in the main character. She has grown from being a naive girl, coerced into acting in an adult manner, into a woman who shows signs of all the aspects for having attained a womanist development: Celie has grown up (not merely acting as though she is), is in charge of a house, a business and her life. She is determined, has a Universalist outlook, and most significantly, she loves. We should remember that Celie, after Nettie left the house and before meeting Sofia and Shug, she had lived alone for some time. During these harsh times, she has no confidante to talk to, no mentor to imitate; her only companion is a paper and a pen. Writing enables her to pour her emotions down and, therefore, to exorcise her demons; writing certainly helps her to survive. In The Color Purple, Walker builds a situation where a man and a woman create ideal relationships. Her advice is that women must fight against the injustices they receive from men and that they should do this by helping each another. The women in the book, even those characters who have interests in the same men, nevertheless bond together to support and encourage one another throughout the book. People who used to suffer in the struggle eventually succeed and win the happiness they deserve. Therefore, The Color Purple does not only encourage black women, but all other disadvantaged women in the globe that they can lead an independent life both economically and physically. In order to be free from sexism and patriarchal domination and develop a cooperative relationship with men at last, they should learn how to be autonomous with their efforts and continue fighting against the prejudice and the patriarchal authority from men as it is often said: any revolution starts in the mind. Conclusion Alice Walker‘s The Color Purple is a story that wonderfully portrays the gradual forming of a contemporary black woman, Celie, who evolves from patriarchal injustice to awakening and freedom. Walker is a highly committed writer who refuses the notion of art for art‘s sake. This is quite evident in The Color Purple since not only does she explain the perils of sexism and racism that plague, African American women, but she even proposes a channel, a solution to their predicament, a path to follow so as to avoid the evils of patriarchy and lead a decent life. Works Cited Austin, Gayle. Feminist Theories For Dramatic Criticism. Michigan: University of Michigan, 2000. Print Case, Sue-Ellen. "Classic Drag: The Greek Creation on Female Parts." Theatre Journal (2009): 365 - 378. Hooks, Bell. Ain‘t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism. Cambridge: South End Press, 2007. Print Rubin, Gayle. Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader. Durham: Duke University Press, 2011. Smith, Dinita. "Celie, You a Tree." Nation (2002): 181 - 183. Walker, Alice. In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose. San Diego:Open Road, 2011. Print Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. London: Woman‘s Press, 1983. 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