Page 1 of 7
European Journal of Business &
Socqial Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 04
April 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 9204
Women as Marginalized Sex in Alice Walker’s the color Purple
Aasif Rashid Wani
Research Scholar, Department of English,
Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies,
Barla-Raisen (M.P.)
ABSTRACT
Indian writing in English is a literature produced by Indian authors who native or co- native of India similarly Afro-American literature produced by African authors in America. The
authors like Philips Whitely and Olaudah Equiano, produced such a literature in the eighteenth
century, they highlighted the slave narratives and the Harlem rebirth. But now there are many
authors who produced an ample literature like Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and
Walter Mosley who are considered as the top writers in Afro- American genre. The specialty of
this form of literature, they focused how black people were oppressed America. Through the
novel ‘The Color Purple’ Alice Walker brought the suffering of black women into existence.
Alice Walker’s main intention was to highlight the sexual and racial issues and the struggle of
women for survival. She depicted the problems of women on the demotic level. It represents the
coercion and the use of black women, violence, subjugation and sexual exploitation. The main
aim of this paper is to highlight the complicated life and sufferings of a female leading character
Celie and other female characters in the novel who wants to freedom from society.
Keywords: Patriarchy, Sexual Oppression, Racism, Rape and Feminism.
Concept of Feminism
Feminism is a movement starts from west and spread like a fire in the whole world. The
main aim of the feministic movement is to spread equality among both genders. Women have
same rights like men in every field. It is a campaign of female rights, including right to vote,
work with men in same office, they can receive same education, they became the owner of their
property, and give protection to women and girl for sexual pestering. It is a movement which
Page 2 of 7
European Journal of Business &
Socqial Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 04
April 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 9205
struggles against female suppression. Inside feminism there is also a group of women’s in
America who constantly fights against those people who suppressed the women. They also keep
this thing in their mind that womanhood and race cannot be estranged. It should be always
connected with each other. This movement in feminism is known as ‘Black Feminism’ in
America both male and female from Africa suffered in terms of color, caste and ethnicity. The
notion of subjugation entails “any unjust situation where, systematically and over a long period
of time, one group denies another group access to the resources of society” (Collins, 4). 1
The gender, color, culture, tradition and custom are connected with each other and form a
particular class. In United States, Afro-American women’s were not became the victim of
suppression or oppression but the male society also became the sufferer of American culture.
There was an extra facet of supremacy for African-American women. So, women were
mistreated not only by the hands of men but also by the hands of white women.
Concept of Black Feminism
From the time of enslavement in America, the greater part of African people has been
suppressed. Suppressed is defined as “any unjust situation where, systematically and over a long
period of time, one group denies another group access to the resources of society” (Collins, 5) 2
Black suppression is divided into three different categories according to Patricia Hill Collins I-e
ideological, economic and political facets of suppression. Afro-American women seriously
affected by discrimination.
The chauvinistic, sexist and classist formation of American society break down into
many racial groups, categories them as an inferior class on account of color. They are considered
as an underclass society and they separate women from community on account of their gander.
It a system where human being are discriminated or separated for their color or sex, which is
highly objectionable, people were not treated as human beings in America, they thought that
white color is their heritage and black people particularly women have no right to live on earth
particularly in the united states. In India writing in English, it is the concept of ‘Delit Literature’
downtrodden people were also not allowed in temples also. They where suppressed by the hands
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Page 3 of 7
European Journal of Business &
Socqial Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 04
April 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 9206
of superior class. Many authors represented the life of tribal or downtrodden class in their
respective works, in which they depicted how such people faced the problem in society. It is the
system of asymmetrical power and freedom where human creatures are divided into many sects.
“In the United States, racial segregation constitutes a fundamental principle of how racism is
organized”. (Collins, P.300)
3
. Black Feminism is the commendation that the color of women has
been suppressed by sexism and racism. Neither they neither recognized the issue properly nor
address this matter properly “Black Feminism focuses on the experiences, needs, and desires of
women of color” (Aldridge 193) 4
The Color Purple as a Reflection of Society:
Literature is tool for those peoples who don’t express their problem in society. With the
help of literature and other forms like theater, art, press they can express their struggle and
efforts in the dominant group, in order to begin discourse about the racism, sexism and explain
the other problem which they faced in their life. The position of Alice walker in Afro-American
literature was so high; she was highly inspired by Zora Neale Hurston. Zora was an artist from
Africa, America and also women. She was criticized everywhere. Her writing was admired and
became inspiration for many authors. Alice Walker came to the point that she has to speak her
thoughts in the form of writing. The development of her characterization is “incorrect enough to
refuse to be measured by others’ standards” (Winchell, 2) 5
. She begins her writing in inquest of
our mothers. “To be an artist and a black woman, even today, lowers our status in many respects,
rather than raises it: and yet, artists we will be” (Gardens, 237). 6
The Color Purple is one of the outstanding works of Walker’s. The novel is in epistolary
form, set from the beginning of 1900 through the mid-1940s. We find the characters are became
the victim of society in form of race or sex. A 14 year old girl Celie from south faced oppression
from the male in the male dominated society, sexually abused by her stepfather. “You better
never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy” (CP 6) 7 Alice Walker presented that her
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