Self Awareness In The Color Purple

The Color Purple depicts a story of Celie – an African American woman who fights for acceptance and fulfilment in her marriage and as well as within her community. She is victimized by racism and sexism at the same time which means that in the novel there are some instances in which the dimension of intersectionality is noticeable. Confined by the patriarchal stiff rules, Celie gradually begins to make her voice heard. She does not want to be a passive observer of her own life. Obviously, it does not happen in the blink of an eye. Her self-development proceeds in a linear and stable manner (Kristeva, 1986). Celie`s development as a woman has its source in her fight in which she faces many problems mainly connected with her self-awareness and her position in the society. Rima Namhata, a contemporary literary critic, claims that The Color

Kaplan writes about their uselessness because “letters are repeatedly lost, withheld, seized, misdirected, or misplaced” (1996). She emphasizes Celie`s lack of self awareness. The protagonist is torn by an inner fear which, on the one hand, leads to her desire to tell about the rape and, on the other hand, tells her to stay silenced. The reason behind may be an argument suggested by Madhu Dubey who writes about the protagonist`s “difficulty in imagining herself as a writing subject who can assume a human readership” (2009: 162). The protagonist addresses her first letters to God. In an honest and direct way, Celie describes all of her problems to Him. Her attitude towards God is often analyzed by researchers (Namhata, 2011). Rima Namhata writes that God becomes Celie`s “own father, her mother, best friend and most importantly her confidante” (2011). The researcher compares the protagonist`s attitude with the white people`s attitude to religion whose “spirituality and God has been institutionalised”