The Color Purple and Violence

Jocelyne Lopez

October 29, 2015

The Color Purple and Violence

        In society, both past and present, there has been a history of domestic violence within relationships or marriages. Back then in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s , it was uncommon for a woman to seek out for help or even leave her spouse after several occasions of being abused. In Alice Walker's "The Color Purple", it portrays a young black woman named Celie, which had been raped by her father, whom fathered her two children. Throughout the story, Celie is abused numerous of times. Physical and psychological abuse is what causes Ms. Celie to be depressed the majority of her life, which also contributed to her being a lesbian.

        As a Latina, I have family friends from all over Latin America that have gone through similar situations like Celie. One great example from the novel is when Celie’s pa beat her because she supposedly winked at a boy in church (5.1). Latin America is very well known for its “machismo.” You can also see machismo play a role in many parts of the novel.  Machismo characteristics are masculine pride, men beating women, and men treating women like property. Celie got beat over something that most people would consider normal. In celie’s case, her winking at a guy was extremely disrespectful and worth hitting her. I know for sure in Latin America, women get worse punishments than just a beating for flirting with a guy in a relationship or not. Recently, one of my step mother’s friend from El Salvador lost her leg because there were rumors she was cheating on her husband. Her husband decided that rumor was extreme enough to chop her leg with a machete. It’s not this bad in the novel, but unfortunately this type of violence takes place in today’s world. The punishment might be different all over the world, but like in the novel, women get beat over normal things like checking a guy out or simply flirting. Women are expected to only have eyes for their partner and like in Celie’s case, girls should not try to seek a boy’s attention.

         “Harpo ast his daddy why he beat me. Mr._______ say, ... Cause she my wife. Plus, she stubborn. All women good for—he don’t finish. He just tuck his chin over the paper like he do. Remind me of Pa” (13.1). This is another example of how violence was just part of Celie’s and Mr.’s  marriage. This passages clearly states how Mr. has no respect for Celie and women general whatsoever. In today’s world, especially in Latin America, it is very common for men and it is how women are manipulated into thinking they are worth nothing and are just meant to have children and be a housewife.