The Color Purple

Celie is a fourteen year-old girl living in rural Georgia. She is constantly subject to physical and sexual abuse by her father, Alphonso. He has impregnated her twice, both times stealing and presumably killing the babies. After Celie's mother becomes ill and dies, Alphonso remarries but continues his abuse. Celie writes letters to God as a way of discussing and dealing with her pain. She and her younger sister, Nettie, learn that a man known as Mr.____ wishes to marry Nettie. Alphonso refuses, offering Celie, who he considers to be the 'ugly' one, instead. Mr.____ and Celie marry, but neither of them are happy and he continues to desire her sister. When Nettie runs away from home and takes refuge at Celie's, Mr.____ tries to sleep with her. She leaves without a trace, leading Celie to believe that she died.

Her husband's son, Harpo, falls in love with a large girl named Sofia, who amazes Celie with her strength. Sofia always fights back against Harpo and Mr.____, sometimes even physically. When Mr.____'s lover, Shug (short for Sugar) becomes ill, he takes her in and the two women become friends. Soon, Celie finds herself attracted to Shug and their relationship becomes intimate. Shug eventually gets married, but their relations continue. Meanwhile, Celie discovers that Mr.____ has been hiding letters sent to her by Nettie, who she had presumed dead. Celie, overcome with rage, reads the letters as she wonders how to keep herself from killing her husband. The remainder of the novel follows her life as she struggles with her marriage and reuniting with her sister.

The Color Purple, published in 1983, is a highly acclaimed Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Written by the legendary American author and feminist Alice Walker, it is often challenged for its explicit nature, but it remains one the most important books related to African-American life in the South. Moreover, it is one of the most important works relating to women, abuse, and finding strength in oneself.