Celie’s Empowerment through Love

 

"I’m pore, I’m black, I may be ugly and can’t cook, a voice say to everything listening. But I’m here."
- Celie in letter 75 when she finally makers her voice heard

 

Celie’s entire life has been dominated by fear and the desire to simply stay alive. She is subjective to everyone – her mother, her stepfather, Mr. ________, and even her extrapolation of God. She continues to work hard in her house even after her stepfather impregnates her. She slaves everyday for Mr. _________ and his children, feeling nothing but a desire to still possess life. When Sophia tells Celie that she’s “got to fight,” Celie tells Sophia that she “don’t know how to fight. All [she] know how to do is stay alive” (Walker 17). Except this “life” that she has is no life at all. She may have the technical, biological definition of life, but her heart is empty and alone, devoid of the only love and compassion she had ever known. It is love that eventually opens up Celie’s soul, forcing her to recognize that she does not have to be submissive and showing her that there is life beyond household chores and daily beatings. For that reason, the two women that show Celie love, Shug and Nettie, are the two heroines of this book. Not only do they live life fully and strive for something better, they empower those around them to find themselves and a fuller life. They are true leaders.

 

Love opens souls

 

Nettie, although not initially strong, is empowered by Samuel and his wife. She in turn empowers Celie through her thoughts in her letters. Although she is not physically there, she shows Celie a whole new world through her writings about Celie’s children, Samuel and his wife, and the African tribes. Nettie is the epitome of independence, exerting her own wants and desires on her own life. Additionally, Nettie continues to love Celie despite the fact she never hears from her or even knows how or where she is. Nettie’s unconditional love shows Celie that she is indeed deserving of love, and thus a better life than the one that she now knows. Because Celie lost Nettie, “[she] make [her]self wood. [She] say to [her]self, Celie, you a tree” (Walker 22), signifying she is emotionally barren. But through Nettie and Shug, Celie becomes a flowering tree, one full of life and new growth.

 

                 

Celie is emotionally barren, but because of the love of Shug and Nettie, she becomes full of life and new growth.

 

Celie’s fascination with Shug Avery begins long before she meets her, when she discovers a picture of her that has fallen out of Mr. ______’s wallet. This is the first time that Celie looks at an African American woman and recognizes that she has power and confidence. Shug becomes a role model for Celie and “when [she] dream, [she] dream of Shug Avery. She be dress to kill, whirling and laughing” (Walker 6). In Celie’s mind, Shug is happy and empowered, just as she is in real life. Celie’s mental image of Shug is exactly the opposite of hserlf, and in a way, Celie lives through Shug. Shug does not take anything from anyone. She does as she pleases and is able to completely disregard what others think of her. All that matters to her is that she is happy and loves herself. She doesn’t allow Mr. _______ to tell her how to behave or what to say. She is her own person. Shug shows Celie that there is something beyond beatings and suppers. She shows her that she does deserve to believe loved, by Shug and by this new idea of God. Shug replaces the love Celie used to get from Nettie, and they “sleep like sisters” (Walker 146).

 

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.

~ Shug Avery

 

In The Bluest Eye, one of the reasons Pecola falls into a state of delirium and loses her ability to distinguish reality from madness is the lack of a strong woman figure in her life. Because she does not have a Shug or Nettie figure, she is unable to actually come to terms with herself. She never finds her own voice or her true spirit. Instead, she is captivated by this idea. For Celie, the repression that she placed on herself stemmed from the men in her life and the ideas and beliefs held by her society. She is able to shed these beliefs that are forced on her and find her own beliefs and ideals. Pecola is not. The standard of beauty that represses her begins to consume her and she is never able to find herself or true happiness and contentment. She ends up consumed by this idea that is not even her own to begin with. Celie, however, becomes confident and empowered, open her own business, and is even secure enough with herself to forgive those that have wronged her.