Sex also plays a key role in the empowerment of the characters. Whereas sex was used in the first section to disempower Celie, in this section it is used to empower her. Once Shug is able to show Celie what sex can really be like, Celie no longer blindly accepts sex as something that happens to her. Indeed, she tells Shug that she even got Mr. to try and stimulate her rather than simply to have sex and go to sleep. However, the crucial moment of empowerment for Celie comes when Shug is willing to sleep with her. For Celie this marks the first time sex actually has meaning, and this new meaning releases her from the constraints of male domination. She thus gains control over her own body and sexuality, giving her the ability to later consider leaving home much the way Sophia does.
Occupations also help to determine the status and strength of each of the characters. Sophia deals directly with this problem when Miss Millie asks her to become her maid. The bitter tragedy of Sophia's life is that she becomes a servant and thus is subjected to the status that Harpo had so often fought with her to achieve. Shug remains independent throughout the novel primarily because she works only for herself. This form of independence is offered at the end of this section to Mary Agnes, who is willing to embrace it by becoming a singer like Shug. Celie has yet to find her own occupation and therefore remains in a servile position, although a slightly more enlightened one than previously.
One of the most unusual characteristics of Celie is her ability to suffer without becoming angry. In fact, she is jealous of the ability of both Sophia and Shug to lash out in fury whenever they feel wronged by the men. Celie instead writes that she simply accepts things the way they are and does not seem capable of anger. Since the empowered characters all seem to be able to get angry, it can be inferred that Celie will not be able to break free from her servitude until something shatters her apathy. The necessary catalyst will come in the form of letters from her sister Nettie, whom she has missed for many years.
This portion of the novel follows the maturation of both Celie and Nettie. Celie is able to finally break away from the oppression of her life and leave her husband. Nettie reaches adulthood and independence by living in the jungles of Africa and struggling with daily living.
The final moment of freedom for Celie is when she gets angry. She had been able to put up with beatings, hard labor, and loveless sexual intercourse without ever getting upset. It is only when she finds out that Albert has been hiding Nettie's letters from her that she is willing to take action. Shug, who comments that Nettie is the only other person Celie has ever loved, indicates Celie’s love for Nettie. The anger that Celie releases manifests itself first in a desire to kill Albert. However, Shug manages to convert Celie's anger into a sense of freedom and self-awareness. Thus Celie is willing to turn to making pants rather than plotting to kill Albert.
The fact that Celie starts making pants for herself illustrates two moments of freedom- occupational and lifestyle. Celie creates occupational freedom by making something for herself rather than for other people. This highlights the fact that she has obtained more individuality and is willing to assert herself. Freedom of lifestyle is achieved by wearing the pants that make Celie look more like a man.
The pants therefore tie in with Celie's sexuality as well. After first being sexually awakened by Shug, Celie now is willing to dress and act in accordance with how she feels. Thus she is willing to put on pants because she recognizes that she is more masculine than many of the male characters in the novel. For Celie, changing her clothes is another manifestation of her freedom.
Nettie also deals with the aspect of clothing while living in the jungle. She remarks that she cannot stand the loose-fitting dresses the women are made to wear because they soon become quite filthy. Nettie prefers to wear Corrine's clothing and thus suffers when Corrine forbids her from wearing them. Immediately after Corrine dies, Nettie resumes wearing her clothes, which can symbolize a form of Nettie's freedom.
The colour purple is re-mentioned by Shug in this section. Shug indicates that it pisses God off if a person walks past the colour purple and does not marvel at it. Thus the colour purple becomes tied to religion for Celie. Shug, who indicates that God is a part of everything, gives Celie’s struggle to find God and understand him. Thus the colour purple should be noticed and enjoyed because it exists. It is possible to identify Celie with the colour purple by realizing that she has gone unnoticed and is finally being noticed as she asserts her existence.
The ending of this section draws on this existentialist epiphany about the colour purple. Celie's new awareness of life is that life is something to be marvelled at. This interpretation makes her more aware of her own existence. Thus, if the colour purple should be noticed, then so should she. This becomes manifest in the final words that Celie writes, "I'm pore, I'm black, I may be ugly and can't cook, a voice say to everything listening. But I'm here." Thus Celie is now fully aware that she is a person who deserves to be looked at as a person. This in a sense helps empower her to break away from Albert and the men who cannot ever look at her as a person.
The colour purple can also relate to pantheism by conceiving of God as being a part of everything. Thus, identifying Celie in a pantheistic light helps to explain her cursing of Albert. She comments several times that the words are not her own but that, "it seem to come to me from the trees." She even tells Albert that the air itself is creating the words in her mouth, and that, "A dust devil flew up on the porch between us, fill my mouth with dirt. The dirt says, 'Anything you do to me, already done to you.'"
By identifying God in nature, this passage allows us to identify God himself speaking to Albert through Celie. She is now aware of her own existence within the world, a world in which Shug has shown her God. Thus she is able to curse Albert in the most dramatic way imaginable by speaking directly from nature. Shug realizes this when she sees Celie and immediately tells Albert to shut up so as not to make things worse.
The portrayal of the men in The Colour Purple has been the subject of several commentators. Often critics believe the men are described too harshly and seem too mean. The men in the novel are for the most part cruel and unnaturally uncaring. This has led to complaints that Alice Walker is anti-male. However, some of the women are also described rather poorly, such as Miss Millie. But given that Miss Millie is white, this has led to further critique of the portrayal of all the whites in the novel. While reading The Colour Purple it is difficult not to notice how the society is stratified. Whether the society described is accurate in its historical context is difficult to tell. However, there are exceptions to these generalizations, evidenced by Samuel and also by Sophia's prizefighter.
This portion of the novel traces Celie's rise in power and strength as she creates a permanent life for herself. Her new relationship with life is manifest in the way she interacts with people and in the way she now writes her letters. The change in Celie also creates a change in many of the characters that look to her as a natural leader.
Albert changes the most in this section following the cursing he received from Celie. Her prophecies are accurate in that he almost dies until he sends Nettie's letters to her. The change in Albert is the result of his desire to be loved. The fact that Celie is able and willing to forgive him for treating her so badly helps him grow as an individual. The major change in their relationship comes when Celie starts to call him Albert directly. This personalizing of their relationship leads Albert to become very human and likable.
Celie's relationships with other people also change in this section. She now seems more in control of what is happening, primarily because she runs her own business. For example, Sophia is put to work in her store as a salesperson, for the first time subjecting a more dominant personality to Celie's control. This is also apparent in the way other people react to Celie, which is with respect and deference rather than ignoring her.
Celie's letters undergo a very gradual shift in style as well. For the first time, Celie starts to include some of her own opinions about things, opinions that are very sarcastic and insightful. This injection of her thoughts into the letters helps to show the reader directly that Celie is growing as a person and taking on more depth as a character.
A recurring theme, which is played on in this part of the book, is the concept of roundness. The first reference is in the previous section where Nettie writes that she lives in a round mud hut. Nettie tells Celie that what she really wants is to have windows in the round hut. Shug also wants a round house, but says that other people call the idea "backward." In order to achieve roundness, Shug sleeps on a round bed. Shug even designs her own version of a round house made of mud or concrete, and says the everyone tells her she cannot put windows in a round house. This is identical to what Nettie writes about roundness.
The concept of roundness relates to the shape of the human body, and especially the female body. The use of mud puts the hut into a biblical context since mankind was first created out of mud. Having windows is important because it allows people to see in as well as out. Thus, the round mud hut is almost a barrier between the women and the outside world. The desire for windows relates to a desire to be seen and understood, as well as able to see and understand.
The full empowerment of Celie arrives in full force at the end of the novel when Nettie returns to her and she has Shug by her side. Celie is now surrounded by a large group of people whom she loves. For her this is the greatest moment of her life, and thus she remarks that she feels younger than she has ever felt before. For Celie, having her family return and to finally be loved by other people is the equivalent of starting a new life. Thus the ending is really the beginning for Celie.
