The Color Purple Letters 61 - 90

Celie’s heart is uplifted with the knowledge of Nettie’s existence. She resolves to abandon Mr. ______ as soon as Nettie makes her way back to Georgia while pondering the appearance of her offspring. She persists in perusing Nettie’s letters chronologically.

In these letters, Nettie narrates a tale. Accompanied by Corrine, Samuel, their children, and their guide Joseph, she journeys for four days through the wilderness until they arrive at an Olinka village, their ultimate destination. The Olinka villagers swarm them, unaccustomed to the sight of African-American missionaries. A woman insists that Olivia and Adam must be Nettie’s children and questions if Nettie and Corrine are both Samuel’s wives. Collectively, they are guided into a wallless hut, where the Olinka serves them a meal and palm wine. Nettie forms a bond with a woman named Catherine, whose daughter Tashi swiftly becomes friends with Olivia. Concurrently, Corrine grows increasingly uneasy with Nettie’s ambiguous role in the family and is vexed that the natives perceive Nettie as Samuel’s second wife. Corrine asks Nettie to prevent the children from addressing her as “Mama Nettie.” Eventually, Corrine also requests that Nettie no longer invite Samuel into her hut alone and that she and Corrine cease wearing each other’s clothes.

As girls, Tashi and Olivia are prohibited from attending the local school, so they join Nettie in her private hut for conversations, storytelling, and sharing secrets. Tashi is the sole Olinka villager interested in hearing about African-American slavery, and Nettie is irked that the Africans refuse to acknowledge even a fraction of the responsibility for the slave trade. As a result, Nettie starts to believe that Africans are as self-absorbed as white Americans. The village soon faces a downturn when road builders employed by an English rubber company bulldoze through the heart of the village with instructions to shoot any dissenters. They demolish village homes and crops and compel the Olinka to begin paying rent on their land, claiming that the Olinka no longer possess it.

Corrine’s apprehension persists, fearing that Nettie is intruding on her family and jeopardizing her identity as a spouse and mother. Stricken with fever, Corrine, suspecting that Nettie might be the biological mother of Olivia and Adam, insists that Nettie and Samuel swear on the Bible that they had never encountered each other before Nettie sought their aid. Convinced that Olivia and Adam are indeed Celie’s children, Nettie privately implores Samuel to elucidate how he adopted them. Nettie discovers that their father, a farmer, had opted to establish a dry goods store. The store thrived, bustling with patrons. Rival white storeowners, irate at Nettie’s father for monopolizing the black clientele, incinerated his shop and lynched him. At this juncture, Nettie’s mother had already given birth to Celie. Following her husband’s demise, Nettie’s mother went into labor, giving birth to Nettie. Despite never fully recovering from the psychological trauma of her husband’s death, she remarried a man named Alphonso and continued to bear children until her death.

Alphonso and Samuel, acquaintances from Samuel’s reckless past before his religious conversion, one day found Alphonso at Samuel’s doorstep, claiming his wife was too sick to look after their two youngest children. When Alphonso proposed to hand over the children to Samuel, Samuel couldn’t decline as he and Corrine had been unable to conceive. Samuel never disclosed the children’s identity to Corrine, so when Nettie arrived, both Samuel and Corrine, noting the resemblance, assumed that Olivia and Adam were Nettie’s children. Stunned upon discovering that Alphonso is not her biological father, Celie ceases her letters to God and starts writing to Nettie. Shug decides to relocate back to Tennessee and invites Celie to accompany her. However, before their departure, Celie wishes to visit Alphonso. She and Shug discover a new house with an exquisitely landscaped yard erected on Alphonso’s former property. Alphonso, now married to Daisy, a mere fifteen-year-old, confirms that Celie’s real father was lynched and that he is merely her stepfather. Celie and Shug visit the local cemetery, but they fail to locate the unmarked gravesite of Celie’s parents. Consoling Celie, Shug assures her, “Us each other’s peoples now,” and plants a kiss on her. Nettie reveals to Samuel and Corrine that she is the aunt of their children. At this juncture, Corrine is gravely sick and has become resentful and indifferent towards the children. Persisting in her belief that the children are Nettie’s, Corrine dismisses Nettie’s account and obstinately believes that Nettie and Samuel are deceiving her. Nettie attempts to jog Corrine’s memory of the instance when Celie spotted her with her children in a fabric store in Georgia. Corrine fails to recollect it until Nettie uncovers the quilt crafted from the fabric Corrine purchased that day. Corrine finally recalls seeing Celie but succumbs to her illness that night. According to Samuel, Corrine forgave Nettie and conquered her fear just before her demise.

Celie admits to both Shug and Nettie that she has ceased her letters to God. Shug endeavors to persuade Celie to reconceptualize God, not as the stereotypical elderly white man with a beard, but as an “it” that resides in and takes pleasure in all creation. Meanwhile, after eleven and a half years, the mayor and Miss Millie terminate Sofia’s servitude and liberate her. Despite her freedom, Sofia feels adrift, as her older children are wedded and dispersed, and her younger ones do not even recall her. Harpo and Squeak now have a daughter of their own, christened Suzie Q. At Mr. ______'s residence, amidst the old gang gathered for dinner, Shug declares that she, Celie, and Grady are relocating to Memphis. In everyone’s presence, Celie finally voices her thoughts, berating Mr. ______ and subsequently warning him that everything he lays his hands on will disintegrate until he rectifies the years of abuse and ill-treatment he has inflicted upon her. The others are taken aback by Celie’s audacity. Squeak, possibly recognizing a fragment of her narrative in Celie’s defiance, proclaims that she will accompany them and shift to Tennessee as well.

Shug’s abode in Memphis is expansive, opulent, and exquisitely adorned. Celie spends her time crafting and stitching custom-made trousers. Shug encourages Celie to establish her venture, leading Celie to inaugurate a business named Folkspants, Unlimited. Celie travels back to Georgia for Sofia’s mother’s funeral, and numerous old acquaintances comment on her radiant appearance. Celie discovers that Mr. ______ is a thoroughly reformed individual who diligently works on his land and maintains his house. Celie learns that Mr. ______ became frail and fearful, and Harpo nursed him back to vitality. Harpo’s dedication prompted Sofia to reconcile with her marriage to Harpo. Celie also learns of Alphonso’s demise, signifying that her parents’ land and home are now hers. She relocates to her residence. In the interim, Nettie and Samuel have tied the knot. They have grown disenchanted with their missionary endeavor in Africa and intend to return to America. However, before their departure, Adam falls for Tashi, who has recently endured the agonizing rituals of female circumcision and facial scarring, an act to preserve the customs of her forebears. In a show of solidarity, Adam undergoes a similar facial scarring procedure. Celie learns of Shug’s desire for a fling with Germaine, causing her pain. Mr. ______, who understands Celie’s anguish due to his own experiences with Shug’s infidelity, becomes a comforting presence for Celie. Their shared love for Shug brings them closer. Nettie’s time in Africa with Samuel reshapes their perception of God, moving away from anthropomorphic representations. Their children, Olivia and Adam, adopt African independence and outspokenness, causing Nettie concern for their return to America.

Eleanor Jane seeks Sofia’s affection for her son, but Sofia, hardened by past racism, remains indifferent. Eleanor Jane’s understanding of Sofia’s past and her efforts to rectify her family’s wrongs bring them closer. Celie overcomes her heartbreak over Shug and hires Sofia for her clothing store. Shug’s return and jealousy over Celie’s newfound friendship with Mr. ______ doesn’t affect Celie, who assures Shug of their shared love for her. Nettie’s unexpected return to America and reunion with Celie is an emotional moment. The family’s gathering on the Fourth of July highlights Tashi’s beauty and her match with Adam, making Celie feel youthful despite her age.

Analysis

In “The Color Purple,” Walker emphasizes the importance of storytelling and communication for self-realization. The novel showcases communication breakdowns among characters like Celie, Alphonso, Mr. _______, Nettie, Samuel, and Corrine. As the story unfolds, these communication gaps are mended through various narratives. Celie discovers her true family history, leading to a shift in her communication pattern. She replaces God and her parents with other women as her confidants. After learning about her tragic past, Celie loses faith in God and starts writing to Nettie. Despite being unable to find her parents’ graves, Celie finds solace in Shug’s words, “Us each others peoples now.” This allows her to form a new family and seek happiness in her life. Nettie’s voice emerges after being suppressed for a long time. She becomes intellectually curious and sophisticated, taking up the role of a missionary. Nettie is vocal about her views on the native Africans, particularly their self-centeredness and sexism. Walker complicates her portrayal of race and identity by highlighting the self-centeredness and subordination of women in the Olinka community. Despite being oppressed by a colonial force, the Olinka community itself exhibits significant internal oppression. This, along with their indifference towards African-American slavery, blurs the clear-cut categories of oppressor and oppressed.

In this section, Walker emphasizes personal faith as the key to self-identity. Celie’s God, a distant figure resembling the men in her life, limits her. Shug’s empowering concept of God, however, is personalized and devoid of race or gender. This realization allows Celie to control her religious beliefs, aiding her quest for autonomy and self-respect. Celie’s self-assertion is evident when she confronts Mr. ______, releasing years of suppressed emotions. Despite Mr. ______'s attempt to belittle her, Celie’s strong self-identity enables her to resist and reinterpret his words defiantly. Her speech inspires Mr. ______ to reassess his life, indicating that Celie’s self-respect has broken a cycle, liberating not just her, but others too.

Another crucial aspect of Celie’s empowerment is her economic independence. Her clothing design, creative self-expression, and entrepreneurship transform sewing, a traditional chore, into a tool of independence. Walker suggests that economic independence is vital for women to escape oppression. Inheriting her family’s property, Celie becomes a fully autonomous woman with her own money, business, story, and friends.